Agent Orange: Tiny Wars
18 x 23"
Acrylic on Canvas
 
Tiny Wars depicts a child whose body has become a battlefield. The swollen forms of the face—cheeks, eyes, and mouth—suggest inflammation, heat, and endurance, not a single moment of violence but a prolonged, invisible conflict.
 
The child does not look outward for an enemy. The eyes are clouded, turned inward, signaling that what is being fought cannot be seen or confronted. These “wars” are tiny not in their impact, but in their scale: cellular, chemical, environmental.
 
The heavy application of acrylic mirrors this accumulation—layer upon layer of stress embedded into the flesh. By framing damage as internal, the painting suggests that some of the most devastating conflicts are fought silently, leaving the smallest bodies to carry the longest consequences.