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Canvas Position - Reality - Panel B
Reality - Panel B - Exploring Responsibility

THE WORLD – REALITY
Panel B, Whole View

Exploring Responsibility

Rosie Jackson 2007
Acrylics on canvas, 100 x 120 cm

Canvas Position - Reality - Panel B - Detail 1
Reality - Panel B - Detail 1

THE WORLD – REALITY
Panel B, Detail 1

Global Villagers 33 and 34: an Indian woman from Calcutta holding the child she deliberately deformed in order to earn more money through begging

Global Villager 24: an Indian boy from Andra Pradesh in a green shirt, carrying a mixture of water and pesticide on his head

Global Villager 25: an Indian man from Bombay sitting in an armchair, thinking about his marriage photograph depicted above

Global Villager 31: a stunted Indian boy from Jaduguda lying in grey cardboard box

Global Villager 39: a child domestic from the Philippines washing clothes in a plastic bowl

Do we act responsibly? This panel shows a number of Global Villagers acting in a seemingly thoughtless manner, or alternately taking on so much responsibility for others that they sacrifice themselves, like the child domestic worker from the Philippines who supports her family.

While the Indian man from Bombay carries financial responsibility for his family, he simultaneously and knowingly spreads syphilis to his wife.

The Indian woman relies on her deformed child for income instead of taking responsible action herself.

Failure to minimise or deal responsibly with toxic waste from a uranium mine in India results in prenatal deformities, demonstrated by the stunted Indian boy lying in a cardboard box. His mother, in her shame, hides him from the public eye, preventing the consequences of irresponsible action from attracting publicity.

Excess fluoride in the water supply to a remote Indian village is the responsibility of the authorities. But who are “the authorities” and how do they come to be there? In the meantime, the health of the accepting Indian villagers suffers due to the overdose of fluoride In their turn, they act irresponsibly in the way they use pesticide, carried here by Global Villager 24.

The elephant-god, Ganesha (centre), is the Lord of success and wisdom, but also the destroyer of vanity and selfishness – characteristics which prevent us from taking on responsibility.

Canvas Position - Reality - Panel B - Detail 2
Reality - Panel B - Detail 2

THE WORLD – REALITY
Panel B, Detail 2

This shows the wedding photo of Global Villager 25, a man from Bombay. He stands proud and young, at the age of seventeen, next to his 15 year old bride who subsequently bore him 6 children.

Now, as a highly successful businessman who provides for his family’s every need, he cannot understand why he is refused the respect he deserves. As far as he is concerned, it is no wonder that he often seeks his pleasure elsewhere ...

Canvas Position - Reality - Panel B - Detail 3
Reality - Panel B - Detail 3

THE WORLD – REALITY
Panel B, Detail 3

This detail shows four Global Villagers. The central figure sitting on the bed is a pregnant Russian woman who uses frequent abortion as a means of contraception, and who is not fully aware of the emotional consequences for herself.

To her right is a Mongolian student standing in front of the Russian statue she admires. The woman at the front of a food queue has been made destitute by the Tsunami and is now forced to wait in line with the neighbours she scorned.

In the foreground is a Taiwanese girl with a sunshade, and a Thai prostitute with a European customer.

Canvas Position - Reality - Panel B - Detail 4
Reality - Panel B - Detail 4

THE WORLD – REALITY
Panel B, Detail 4

This Global Villager is a 20 year old girl from Taiwan. Although she is still quite young, she has dark rings under her eyes from long working hours and long nights out. She is portrayed as having very dark skin, and as she wanders through the busy shopping centre on a sweltering afternoon, she holds an umbrella in the hope that this will prevent the intense Asian sun from deepening her complexion.

Each shop window provides her with an opportunity to check her appearance, which is generally her main focus of attention. Her main aim is to earn enough money for clothes and to buy the best and most expensive cream available on the booming skin whitening cosmetics market. Rumours that such creams may cause rash or contain dangerous ingredients are something she ignores.

Canvas Position - Reality - Panel B - Detail 5
Reality - Panel B - Detail 5

THE WORLD – REALITY
Panel B, Detail 5

In THE WORLD – REALITY, nature is not respected until it becomes rare, like this mint-coloured flower in its protective casing, and is generally relegated to the edges of the painting, like the row of red cells below.

Here, the Global Villager from Hong Kong is killing snakes to cook at a food stall in the night market. In the background, behind the protected plant, is the monument built in memory of Ghandi, one of the staunchest advocates of non-violence the world has ever known.

Canvas Position - Reality - Panel B - Detail 6
Reality - Panel B - Detail 6

THE WORLD – REALITY
Panel B, Detail 6

How responsible are we? The main element on Panel B is this large wave which is causing devastation along the coastline – a phenomenon set in motion by air pollutants, weather manipulation, the underground nuclear test explosions in panels A and E, and the thought-prisons issuing from the huge red mouth of the Global Villager from Australia.

These black boxes contain negative thoughts so numerable and so potent that they clump together and physically materialise. Thus we carry responsibility for our own disasters and our own environment on a global scale.

Our every thought and action – whether positive or negative - has a physical result. The energy we send out returns in some way to us personally. If every individual develops this awareness, combined with increased honesty and compassion, we will transform the world into a flourishing global community.