Charmaine Olivia, also known as Angelina Jolie, has created quite a stir with her latest book, A Place of Execution, in which she tackles the issues surrounding height discrimination. Height discrimination is prevalent in our society, and many people of different ages, gender, and ethnicity face this prejudice every day. It’s an issue that effects so many, yet those who suffer the most are often the least informed about it. The topic of height discrimination is a very sensitive one, as it impacts the lives of not only those who suffer from it, but those who look down on them because of it. What happens when someone is born taller than others?
Her book, A Place of Execution, seeks to explore exactly who are those who are as physically conscious creatures in the physical world, as well as how their perspective of the world can impact upon self-taught, and even self-made sense of worth. The premise of the book is simple enough: each person is created with a birthmark that is unique to him or her, a mark that is inherent to their individual essence that is expressed through their appearance. In this day and age, with everything that we are subjected to, it is easy to lose sight of who we truly are, as we are bombarded with images and messages that are designed to alter and influence our perceptions of ourselves. A Place of Execution is the first work of an artist charmaine, and it is written as a series of self-taught paintings, commissioned by famous people such as Angelina Jolie and her parents, that seek to illustrate the way that height discrimination can negatively impact those who experience it.
In her paintings, which take the form of portraits and self-portraits that she completed while posing as a character from a story, the thirty-year-old artist successfully brings to light a unique aspect of her personality and individuality. Her compositions are deeply personal, as she draws from a diverse range of painting techniques that all allow her to create a beautiful portrait that captures the essence of each subject. In this group show at theedy’s murals in southern California, she is joined by a group of other local artists who have created some of their own works as well, including the likes of Christina Perrin and Michael Toney.