Child soldier

When I came across some of the horrific stories of young children being ripped away from their homes, their families brutally murdered, beaten, raped and drugged into either becoming animals, or also killed if not able to submit...

I had to do the thing that for me transforms pain into meaning, I needed to turn it into art. I feel that in that way, I can maybe at least in the tiniest of ways, take a little bit of the pain away...

So this is one of the pieces from my child soldier series... Isn't it scary that you're probably not shocked to see a young boy holding a gun. There are also many other child soldiers in the background, many of them holding the infamous Ak-47.

So, I felt this piece was very fitting for the #contorversy-art competition hosted by @in2itiveart I consider it controversial for children to bear arms and wage wars. I find it controversial that guns and war in general are so widely accepted. I find it contoversial that we don't tend to do anything about problems we don't consider our own. I find it controversial to make a post that isn't all happy joy joy. And I find it controversial that without all of this pain and suffering. We wouldn't know how to Love...

I think many of us are child soldiers, not all to this extreme, but brainwashing is global, as well as the manipulation of the masses by small groups, many of us are kids with a lot to give, and a lot of life to live, but are being forced to fight for ideals we don't even believe in.

We need to be the change we want to see in the world. I do believe humanity as a grand organism will learn to live in a better way. On an energy level this is all the universe being aware of itself, and the human experience is just a transitory experience, like the flame of a fire.

What do you all think? Can we all live in peace? Or are equal parts creation (joy) and destruction (pain) simply the nature of things. Your feedback is very welcome

From the bottom of my heart, I offer my life in service of art.

Your truely,

Gio