A Kiribati Angel!

November 14, 2021

I tried finding a visual artist from Kiribati, but I was not able to. So I decided to create an angel that reflected some of the elements I learned about this beautiful country. I decided to use the image of a man I posted in the weaving post as the base for may angel. His eyes, the way he looks with them seemed very angelic to me… very kind and sweet:

I decided on wings made of huge palm leaves too. It is such a great part of their culture. Then for the background I was inspired in their flag… I thought the contrast of the red and the palm leaves would be incredible. I also wanted to place him as if floating on water… Here is a bit of my process:

What do you think?

I decided to go over his feet with the blue line to give the impression of sinking. Sadly, Kiribati will be one of the first countries to disappear due to Climate Change. As if this was not disheartening enough, yesterday I read the terrible news that the government of Kiribati has almost made the decision to allow the fishing of tuna in PIPA. PIPA is the Phoenix Islands Protected Area, one of the biggest ocean reserves in the world. The government says that the country needs the money… and I understand that, but this is one of those moments I wish there was a World Agency that could give them the money they need and preserve this precious area for future generations.