The Weight Between Us

The Weight Between Us

The Weight Between Us was inspired by the human cost of immigration detention and family separation.

The viewer faces an adult and child directly, but neither face can be seen. Both heads are bowed in despair. The man presses closely against the child, creating a protective gesture that is also filled with helplessness. He is near enough to offer comfort, yet unable to remove the barrier surrounding them.

The prison bars stand between the subjects and the viewer, but the deeper barrier is the system that has placed them there. The child has no role in the political debate, yet carries its consequences.

This painting does not argue policy. It asks the viewer to pause before the headlines and consider the people inside them—the fear, the closeness, and the shared weight of separation.

It’s a Yatzi.