7x5" Mixed Media on Paper
"Inequality Since 4300 BC" by Chile Thomas
This is a richly layered mixed-media painting with powerful symbolic storytelling. Here's a breakdown of its elements:
Central Figure
A woman dressed in traditional/historical clothing — a blue headscarf, white blouse, green vest, and dark red skirt — stands as the focal point. She holds a target board aloft in one raised hand, while clutching an arrow in the other. Crucially, multiple arrows pierce her body, passing through her torso and arms, yet she remains standing and composed — a powerful image of endurance through suffering.
Symbolism
The target on her body and in her hand suggests she has been made a perpetual target — socially, economically, historically
Her upright, dignified posture despite the arrows conveys resilience and defiance
The arrows stuck in the ground around her reinforce that this assault is ongoing and widespread
Background & Setting
A pastoral landscape with trees sits behind her, rendered in a folk-art style, contrasting the violence of the foreground.
Text Elements
Along the bottom, handwritten text reads: "Poor Shot · Poor Sport · Poor Character · Poor Shot · Poor..." — a repeating indictment, of those who have historically oppressed or targeted marginalized peoples.
Collage Base
The lower portion incorporates collaged newspaper/magazine fragments, grounding the historical allegory in the contemporary world.
Overall Reading
The title anchors the piece as a meditation on systemic inequality across millennia — the figure represents those who have borne the arrows of discrimination, poverty, and injustice throughout human history, yet persist.