Walk of Fire and Faith - Waco Siege
Creating this piece I titled “Walk of Fire and Faith”, I imagined the confusion and horror many of the children must have felt after witnessing their home burn with their families and friends dying inside. I depicted this massive fire with the warm, flowing hues of watercolor markers surrounding my collage image. I imagine they felt conflicting feelings toward their leader Koresh and God, who they thought might save them but did not. They may have questioned Koresh and even the Bible’s teachings. Some may have wondered whether a miracle would happen, that Koresh might have a spiritual return and reunite them with their families. This is why I chose the ominous image of a man walking through fire with a peaceful look on his face as the child watches with her body tensed with fear. I drew green hedges around her to represent the remains of her innocent memories of the lush, green Waco scenery before the siege occurred.
I imagine some of the children may have had survivor guilt, considering that they had survived this traumatic event while many had not. I doubt that the FBI and even trauma personell were fully explaining things to the children, leaving many of them in the dark as to what was happening or had already happened to their families. Many of the children just assumed their families were dead, which is why I depicted the images of the faces burning in anguish. Their faces are illuminated with various colors to represent the child’s imagination contorting what may or may not have happened while they were under the protection of the FBI.
