Title of the Work of Art:

Midday Suicide

Date of Creation:
2014

Genre:
Figurative Composition
Period-Movement:
Neo Expressionism
Technique:
Painting
Materials:
Original digital artwork
Dimensions:
H 60 x W 40 inches


Artwork Description:
Midday Suicide is a painting depicting the collapse of a young woman on a bright sunny day. She stands behind a fence, screaming toward the viewer. The palette consists of bluish violet, yellowish white, and black. The work was inspired by Nicholaas Chiao's personal experience of losing contact with a classmate he admired after emigrating from Belarus to the United States. The painting symbolizes the loss of their physical relationship. The motif of the fence serves as a powerful symbol of separation and barriers not just in Chiao's life, but also universally, echoing the isolation of emigration and the ensuing disconnection from loved ones. (The Fence Around Our Identities: Symbolism In August Wilson's Fences, n.d.) This work speaks to the broader human condition of yearning for connection and the inevitable void that distance and change create.