Laylah Ali

Laylah Ali's work often represent powerful feelings; such as anger, pain, and abuse. I think that the meaning of her paintings come from the facial expressions of her characters. Despite the fact that these are just characters and not real people; their facial expressions are so powerful that I could almost feel the victim's pain. Abuse or bullying? Who knows? All I know is that these green headed figures are as powerful as any other realistic painting. Another characteristic of Laylah Ali's work is that she often leaves her figures arm less to see what they are capable of doing; and to see what kind of message they can send by just using facial expressions. Color is also an element of great importance, not only because colors have meaning, but because they help her build tension. Her main subjects are political and social issues. Just like in this picture, could the victim be a prisoner or just a kid at school. There is a complexity about Laylah Ali's characters that have and will continue to set her apart from any other artist.