When I Remember...

Patricia Sotarello & AFSC Chicago Summer Institute Students

Chicago, IL

When I Remember… speaks for both the beauty of Afghan land and culture as well as the devastation and destruction of land, resources, and culture as a consequence of warfare. The inscription was inspired by a classic poem and an article about the deforestation of native pistachio trees due to lack of fuel resources for people to live. 

After analyzing artwork from different artists that speak about wars, the students sketched their ideas and thoughts. We then shared the results and discussed common visual elements and messages that could potentially become one image. Working in groups again, they combined their main ideas and created three very different scale designs that were projected and traced on the banners. 

During four consecutive Fridays, teens from the AFSC Summer Institute worked in groups to design and paint three banners honoring the people of Afghanistan. First, we tried to make connections with war in general, then the current situation in Afghanistan and the US involvement. The teens were then divided into three groups to investigate and gather information about Afghan history and culture, women and children, environment and education and the effects of the war. They shared their findings and compared it to some statistics with our situation in the US.