Saturday, August 04, 2007

Painting for Peace

We visited Derry - or Londonderry. They way you say this discloses your political loyalties. Add 'London' to Derry if you are a Unionist, or drop the 'London' if you are a Republican.


The Bogside is in Derry. It is Republican. And it has murals that depict social feelings. And the political boundaries were clearly demarcated by the murals.
During the troubles the faces of those who had died were also painted on the walls. And these murals are constantly being touched up.


But one painting in particular moved me. It depicts the first girl to die in the conflict. And was constantly retouched to keep her memory alive. But the changed political circumstances have introduced a change to the painting. The rifle is broken. And a butterfly has been introduced. This butterfly began as black and white, but as peace grows, so the artists are adding colour. Their hope is that the butterfly will be fully colourful.

Pray that this be so.

3 comments:

rebecca said...

Is that what butterflies stand for.. peace.

I like that.

becky

Sylvia said...

Becky
It is what they stand for, it was not coloured in untill all the weapons responsible for Annette's death were laid down last year. All of the Derry murals have a sign of peace somewhere on them

Sylvia said...
This comment has been removed by the author.