ROBIN ELEY
As adults we assume that children are powerless. From birth they must be fed, clothed and bathed. They cannot walk or talk and seem generally unaware of their surroundings. Though one could argue that the control they wield over our lives is a form of power, it is not something they have chosen and therefore couldn’t be considered genuine power. And, in varying degrees, children remain like this for quite some time.
As they grow, children develop personalities, and for my niece Amelia hers has always been one of strength. Perhaps it is the fact that she is only 12 months younger than her older sister, young enough to see a difference, but old enough to try and catch up. Or maybe it’s just the way she is, but Amelia has always possessed an inner strength that belies her tender age. In an environment where blending in and following the crowd is the easiest path, from the moment she could Amelia was determined to make her own choices. It was her choice to commit to intensive gymnastics training, a daily commitment that would test even the most passionate, and it was her choice to not have her ears pinned back. And although her reasoning is undeniably endearing, “Mummy I love my ears because they are magical, pixie ears”, the power of her decision is equally formidable.
Power can be found in many forms, all linked by a common thread: the ability to affect us. It is a mistake to think of power in only the most obvious of examples, for it is not the event or person that defines the power, but our visceral reaction to it. Whether it’s a tropical cyclone, a nuclear bomb or the indomitable will of a 6 year old girl, we can find power in both the widest expanses and smallest corners of our lives. And sometimes the most powerful messages can be learned from those whose power speaks in a whisper, we just need to listen.
RECENTLY SUBMITTED COMMENTS
"I like this because of the reality of the simplicity. It is a deep question with deep answers and its good that art is used to stimulate your own thoughts and respond with reason. Life is the stongest power for each of our own reasons, no need to say more.Rhys Davies
"Power to me means... Personal, singular focus that is measured by the degree to which you stand by your personal convictions. I love the strength that this image holds - a young girl, looking straight out, an unwavering view which might be bolstered by gritted teeth, or wide eye wonder. Whichever, in it's almost blank face glory, this expression says more than any words and summarizes what I believe to be power. No-one does this better than a child who delivers their point of view with only personal pretence. And while it's a scary thought that as we grow older, many try to hold onto this as an excuse for ignorance, in a child its a beautiful reminder of innocence."
Leah Hopcroft
Senior Business Manager
303
"Such a delicately sincere & beautiful piece that I immediately felt a strong affinity with. Thinking about becoming a father and all that it entails & this image speaks to me in truths I can never really express in words alone. Powerful like a whisper through time."
Loquii
"The intense Power and true remarkable child innocence and quality of this work makes me think of times when I can dwell back to the past, and my own Childhood and child like Power and intense innocense that makes us all who we once were.
I truly am gratefull for The Image that we see of a Young Girl of Innocence and yet in the way it is shown are we all to see the Positive of what this may be or could there also be a Total Negative side of the Innocence Protruding out into our eager and Sensitive minds that just want to see Beauty and Not the Alter of the dreaded depraved indifference of which this image could be a true example of the Darker and Dirty and Deep side of things that our minds do not want to challenge or have that depraved inprint of the Child having been disturbed in that way by the Unnimaginable Adult Power and total Indulgence of the sometimes Depraved Child in this way! I admire the Piece as it does poke at both sides of this Imagination..........."
Rudie Janusauskas
"I think Robin's work is incredibly powerful and beautiful. I think society can disregard the power of children and forget that their perspective is so genuine. A child's perspective is so unaffected by the various social pressures and strictures which act upon an individual as they grow and evolve to define who they. A child is new to this world of social constructs and thus can make a judgement far removed from what can be seen as socially correct. As we grow up we become aware of the seemingly overbearing need to conform to social norms yet if you watch a child play or interact, it is clear that they are blissfully and unconsciously unaware of such forces.
Amelia choice against pinning her ears back is such a glorious representation of this fact and her beautiful reasoning behind her choice further implies the unclouded nature of a child's thoughts and thus the authenticity of their perspective.
This work is particularly special for me as it shows such a powerful six year old girl. When I had turned six I had lost my mother to breast cancer a year earlier and I hope that I embodied the same strength that Amelia clearly does. It is also special because my mother shared the name of the artist-Robin."
Tilly Duffecy