RESPECT
by Edna Thecla
This work consists of two distinct scenes: A Mother with her Garden of Flowers (pictured right) and Donna (pictured left).
A Mother with her Garden of Flowers
Parents play a big part in one’s life, in nurturing a sense of respect, towards and others and towards oneself in return. Queen of all mothers, the lady depicted represents all mothers in the world, a role model to look up to.
The flowers in the garden represent all the members in and of the community. The mother takes care of the flowers, and appreciates them individually despite their differences. The mother’s respectful way, and in turn earning respect, serves as a guide for the treatment of all the different members of the community, regardless of colour, language and background.
Donna
A kind of self-portrait, the girl depicted was disrespected by many when she chose to respect herself and her body. With her own personal reasons, she chose to stand up for herself, gathering all her courage and strength to face the demons in her life.
Although the pink hair may give the impression of softness, it actually represents her strength and the grace to endure hardships and cruelty.
Perhaps before we learn to respect others, we should first learn to respect ourselves. By respecting ourselves, we learn to love and understand ourselves better, establishing a foundation from which to grow as a person.
The leaves represent growth. The droplets of water represent the countless tears shed during all those times when nobody cared to understand her choice towards self-respect.
Edna is a hobbyist artist from Kota Kinabalu. Her works include paintings of flowers, religious arts and sometimes calligraphy. Edna finds art and dance to be therapeutic and she uses both as her way of expressing her feelings and emotions as she is never good with words.