The Survivors’ Tale

Artist Statement

Jean Kondo Weigl

The set of nine acrylic paintings on paper entitled The Survivors’ Tale (2020) grew out of two earlier works on canvas from 2014, The Usual Suspects and Ellis Island, USA.  In the earlier paintings, a curious group of four figures is depicted standing on a shore with empty boats in the foreground.  The scene suggests that a journey by water is either about to begin or has just ended, but whether it’s a departure or an arrival, and whether the figures are standing in apprehension or anticipation, is ambiguous.  On the other hand, with the recent set of paintings, The Survivors’ Tale, my intention was not ambiguous, but rather to further explore the story of the four characters – the woman, boy, dog and rabbit – and provide more information about the journey in the boat they apparently came to make.  Ultimately, The Survivors’ Tale attempts to tell a hopeful story of those who somehow overcome loss – immigrants, refugees, detainees and others who, in spite of circumstances beyond their control, take control over finding a place where they belong.  Even though I’ve been making narrative art for most of my career, The Survivors’ Tale is the first piece in which I used multiple paintings to contribute to a single narrative.  Another aspect of The Survivors’ Tale – one that I didn’t fully appreciate until the entire set of paintings was completed -- is that, with the repetition of the narrative elements, the formal elements and their variations throughout the set became more evident, gaining greater emphasis and importance.