City of Confliction

Lit Log #2 - The city of confliction

This piece of art, titled The City of Confliction is my attempt at a visual representation of a section of the book The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood. It features a tall cityscape from the perspective of somebody standing on the ground, looking up. There are red or blue details on the buildings depending on where you look, and in the background flames are rising tall above the buildings, contrasting against an oddly calm, blue sky. The scene from the book I chose to base my artwork off of was the Manhattan cleanup, a riot/protest of sorts, where pro-Gilead radicals took to Times Square, burning, destroying, and denouncing people and things they saw unfit for their ideal society. They burnt clothes and humiliated those responsible for their design and manufacture.

My scene of Times Square isn’t exactly as-seen in the book or TV series, as I chose to take liberties to include details and symbols that elevate this from simply a visual piece, to a proper representation with symbolic meanings all throughout. I stayed on-script with the major details. I kept the buildings that are actually in Times Square, using a reference picture to stay fairly realistic with those depictions. Beyond that, almost every choice has a meaning behind it.

The most obvious symbol included is the red and blue contrasting colours, seen all throughout the scene. The colours both represent one side of the story, red being Gilead and blue being the resistance. (whether Mayday, or just individual acts of resistance. All rebellion is included in it) The colours are mostly split down the middle, with the buildings on the left emitting a red light from their windows showing Gilead occupation, and the right being blue to show the rebels residence. This is also furthered by the signage on the buildings, with the tall pointy building on the right depicting the word “MAYDAY,” which is the name of the major rebel group in The Handmaid’s Tale, and the end of the word “Gilead” (seen as “-EAD”) can be seen on the shorter building on the far left. The tallest building is the one in the middle, which is split half and half between Gilead and the rebels. The billboards that line the building all show half red and half blue. This isn’t just to show their coexistence, but also their constant battle. Both parties are always fighting for control and/or freedom, and the mixed signals on the signage shows this conflict.

On the tallest Gilead occupied building, you can see that it is labeled with “Shein.” During the Manhattan cleanup, the primary item that got burned was clothing. To allude to this, I showed that Gilead occupied the former Shein building, and turned it into one of their own. This isn’t only a surface level reference, but also a way of showing how when Gilead wants something gone or changed, they will use force, violence, and manipulation to get it done. Some of the windows on the Shein building shine blue, despite it being supposed to be owned by Gilead. This is to once again show more rebellion, and to show how even when under Gilead control, rebellion and hope can still exist for all of those who want to break free.

In the background, the flames that burn high are a literal representation of the fires and arson that occurred during the Manhattan cleanup in the book and TV show, but also another representation of Gilead vs rebels. The flames burn high into the sky, taller than any real fire could reach, yet no visual destruction is apparent. No burnt buildings, no smoke. Even the sky is clear. This is indicative of Gilead occupation. They keep a good image, wearing nice clothes and residing in well-made buildings. They are concerned with their public image, keeping many secrets, like the full extent of what happens to handmaids. Yet despite this well kept look, they are a terrible force, causing pain and destruction both emotionally and physically everywhere they control.

The contrasting blue sky is the final important symbol, which holds similar meaning to the billboards earlier. Even in the flames of Gilead’s control, rebellion and resistance will still exist, shining bright above their struggles.

I know I spelled Shien wrong. Too late