Chris ofili’s turner prize winning piece, No Woman No Cry, depicts a woman in silent sorrow as teardrops stream down her face, each holding the image of black murder victim Stephen Lawrence. The artwork, which won the turner prize in 1998, has a very traditional African painting style to it, with the vibrant colours and simple shapes. What had drawn me to the painting at first was its uniqueness, not only in the style in which it had been painted but also the range of different materials and techniques used to create the piece, such as acrylic and oil paint, polyester resin, paper collage, and even elephant dung.
Once the viewer gets an understanding of the message behind the artwork that is when the painting is truly complete. The woman in the painting could represent the mother of Stephen Lawrence or could simply represent all mothers or people who have lost a loved one through gang violence. The woman’s face looks emotionless, it is only clear that she is upset with the presence of the teardrops, which could symbolize the deep internal grief she is feeling, due to her tragic loss. The net-like structure, covering the entire portrait of the woman, could represent the feeling of being trapped and alone.
I would have liked to have felt more emotion from the painting, to get an idea of how the woman is feeling deep inside, but then again I believe this was not really the artists aim. He symbolically wanted to show emotion using elements like teardrops and the net, rather than simply showing feelings using the woman’s facial expressions.
Once the viewer gets an understanding of the message behind the artwork that is when the painting is truly complete. The woman in the painting could represent the mother of Stephen Lawrence or could simply represent all mothers or people who have lost a loved one through gang violence. The woman’s face looks emotionless, it is only clear that she is upset with the presence of the teardrops, which could symbolize the deep internal grief she is feeling, due to her tragic loss. The net-like structure, covering the entire portrait of the woman, could represent the feeling of being trapped and alone.
I would have liked to have felt more emotion from the painting, to get an idea of how the woman is feeling deep inside, but then again I believe this was not really the artists aim. He symbolically wanted to show emotion using elements like teardrops and the net, rather than simply showing feelings using the woman’s facial expressions.
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