A woman, whose grief shows a mother's true love for her child.
Looking at this painting, I can say with confidence that this is a very bright and deep work of art with a lot of meaning behind it. The artwork itself is painted with watercolor paint in an abstract style. In this artwork we see a woman with dark hair and the same dark skin. It can be seen that the woman in the painting has blue eye shadow on her eyes, plump pinkish lips and multicolored beads neatly arranged on her hair, and also a black amulet that hangs around her neck.
As I wrote earlier, the painting of a crying woman is depicted in an abstract style, so we can also observe similar patterns on the background around her. The background is painted in green and yellow colors that blend harmoniously with each other. A blue tears flows down from the eyes of the woman, from which we understand why this picture was called "no woman, no cry."
This artwork was painted by the British artist Chris Ofili in 1998, when he lived and worked in London. Ofili was very touched by the tragic story of Doreen Lawrence, which is related to her son Stephen Lawrence, who was killed as a teenager in an unprovoked racist attack in London in 1993. This painting shows us the grief and sadness of the mother in all possible colors. Chris Ofili was able to perfectly convey the feelings of resentment and injustice that Doreen felt towards her dead son.
This artistic work was done during Ofili's practice, during the period when he moved from creating mostly abstract paintings with disparate representative elements to paintings that mainly focus on large individual figures.
Also, the number of small details in this picture never ceases to amaze, as if there is a hidden meaning in each of its patterns, understandable only to the author. For example, as I wrote earlier, in Doreen's tears we can observe collages with photos of her deceased son, thereby showing that the memory of him will always live in her heart. I also can't help but notice that her necklace is made of real elephant dung, given that this painting also stands on two pieces of elephant dung.
Ofili's drawing technique is also very inspiring! He covered the canvas with yellow and green paint before adding collaged circles forming a diamond-shaped pattern. Then Ofili applied the heart shapes with black oil paint and black dots using a rubbing technique. After that, he used more phosphorescent paint to write the text across the painting before securing the dung pendant on the canvas with a glue gun. Polyester resin mixed with orange and black pigments and sequins was then poured onto the work when it was positioned horizontally and the canvas was lifted before drying, forming strips of resin that are visible around its edges. Finally, oil paint diluted with turpentine was applied to the image of the woman, and unrefined oils were used for beads and flowers on her chest.
Quoting the curator Judith Nesbitt, who wrote that Ofili was deeply touched by how Doreen Lawrence's overwhelming silent grief over the tragic death of her son was transformed with each subsequent interview, as she became even stronger in spirit and dared to speak with great dignity.
My interpretation of this artwork is that this painting shows us how strong the grief of a mother who has lost her child can be, and that, despite all the pain and tragedy, she has not lost her inner spirit. Tears are streaming down her face, but she continues to hold her head straight, ready for the new difficulties that life has prepared for her.
The name of the painting also fits this artwork very perfectly, as we know that it is a reference to the famous song by Jamaican singer Bob Marley, who asks a woman not to cry.
