'My
Brother was a hero...'
This
7-color screenprint measures approx. 25x20 inches and includes a beautiful
fade.
About
the imagery, Jermaine says:
'Well,
first you have to understand that there are these raccoons...and they have
a feud of sorts with these rabbits, which has become increasingly more
hostile as it has dragged on. It goes back a long time: one would have
to literally do ancient research to figure out just exactly where it started.
But it's primarily over a modest patch of woods that they both feel belongs
to them. There have been various bunnies and 'coons throughout the ages
who've made quite the elegant argument for their respective sides. There
is much debate over who was there first: no one really knows. The other
animals of the surrounding fields...well, they just stay away. It's a shame,
really...because this patch of woods is so beautiful and old. Many believe
that the first animals of the area came forth from THIS forest. But this
forest has seen so much death and conflict. Some animals of the area feel
that the very trees there survive on the spilled blood in the soil. In
recent years, a stranger from the west began to wander the perimeter of
the forest. Offering knowledge and food and skill, he became involved with
the bunnies. The stranger taught them how to control themselves, how to
organize and think. He taught them how to construct weapons for their crusade
and supplied the raw materials for these. He began to accompany them in
their swaggering excursions into the deep areas of the forest. He stood
with them, quiet and glaring, as they hurled taunts and threats at the
raccoons. Threats became virulent attacks, and the stranger occasionally
participated in the carnage. Homes were taken, families split, raccoons
slaughtered. Several raccoon elders felt it was best to meet with the bunnies
in an attempt to stem the violence. Few of these meetings were actually
convened, and though some of these held out slim hopes for a peaceful coexistence
in the forest, radical elements on each side sabotaged any progress. And
to this day, the battle for a small patch of woods rages on. Bunny and
raccoon blood soaks the soil, while the reckless voices on each side urge
on more and more conflict. Through all of this, the silent stranger has
stood near to his bunny brethren, supplying them with what they need in
their struggle for the wood. Unable to compete with the rabbit population
in this aspect, the raccoons have increasingly participated in guerrilla
warfare tactics to strike their blows. Animals of the surrounding fields
keep a far distance, afraid to become drawn into the violence of random
and ruthless attacks. Though several of the raccoon elders have begged
the population for peace and calm and a return to the 'honorable rules
of war', the radical adherents have embraced the ways of terror. And here
is where our image comes into play. One incident among hundreds, when a
desperate group of animals who've lost fathers and mothers and children
and lovers feel very justified in making certain sacrifices to inflict
the same damage on their enemy. This is how wild animals think.'
This
print is from a very limited signed and numbered edition of only 100.
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'My
Brother was a hero...' VARIANT
The
current 'hot' practice in the contemporary print world is that of making
'variants' ( special 'additional' versions of a released print, containing
color changes in ink or paper ). In an attempt to take this basic idea
a step further, Jermaine has created a VARIANT print to the above 'My Brother
was a hero...' art print.
About
this print, Jermaine says:
'It's
a variant in the truest sense, I think. In the aesthetic sense. It's a
variation on the idea and the imagery depicted in the regular 'hero' print.
It's not just a color change in ink or printing the same image on a different
color stock...but a variant take on the actual content of the print. It
feels a bit more substantial, I think. I'll do this again.'
The
'My Brother was a hero...' variant is printed on white gallery stock and
measures approx. 24x18 inches and sports metallic and day-glow inks. It
is strictly limited to a signed and numbered regular edition of only 50
prints.
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