child not bomber

When l saw the call for artists for the ‘‘banality of evil in our daily lives’’ I felt a strong urge to explore the deliberate act of children's exploitation as ‘‘zombie bombers’’ due to brainwashing.

Recalling Hannah Arendth's profound question when reporting for the New Yorker back in 1961 at the trial of Adolph Eichmann,‘‘can one do evil without being evil?’’It took me back to June 2019 when three kids - two girls and a boy - succesfully carried out the sucide bombings outside a video hall in Konduga village, north-east Nigeria. Were they evil, or just a product of their environment.

A child cannot be evil when he or she has not seen the bad in the world.The mind of a child is innocent, playful, and unrestrained by the inner voice of reason or fear of failure. How can a human being exploit this innocent mind and subject these adorable beings to such a heinous act?

MEDIUM
Charcoal and conte on canvas