The Elian Saga, Digital Image, 11" x16" (Limited Edition of 150)

Nicholas Poussin painted the Judgment of Solomon in 1649 ( 39 3/8" x 59," the Louvre, Paris). When I saw a reproduction of this painting in an art history book, it reminded me of the struggle between Elian Gonzalez's Miami relatives and his father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez, of Cardenas, Cuba. Two governments became involved: the United States and Cuba. Many people, especially in Miami and Cuba, seemed to have an opinion regarding what the fate of Elian should be and where he should live. No fair solution to the problem of this 'miracle child' who survived the treacherous trip from Cuba to the United States on an innertube in 1999, losing his mother during the journey, and having been symbolically rescued on Thanksgiving Day, was apparent. Passions were high on both sides of the issue. The situation reminded me more and more of the dilemma of Solomon, that of trying to place a child claimed by two different mothers, with the rightful parent.

To illustrate my point, I appropriated Poussin's image, flopping it horizontally, and replacing the faces of the individuals in the original image with those of some of the major characters in the Elian Saga, using Photoshop 6.0. From left to right the characters represented are: Elian's baby half-brother; the second woman to his right is Elian's grandmother; to her right, Reverend Joan Brown Campbell, who was Juan Miguel's advisor while in the United States; Fidel Castro, the Cuban dictator; and in the yellow robe, Juan Miguel Gonzalez, Elian's father. Elian's stepmother is represented in the front left center, holding a dead child( symbollic of those who have died on the dangerous trip from Cuba to Florida, seeking political freedom and hoping for financial opportunities). Janet Reno sits on the throne of Solomon, as the person who has the most power to decide Elian's fate. Marisleysis, Elian's surrogate mother in Miami, pleads for his freedom to remain in the United States, as Elian is held upside down from a foot in the grasp of the soldier who forcefully took him from his Miami domicle on Good Friday in the year 2000. Donato Dalrymple, one of the 'fishermen' who rescued Elian, is in the shadows of the background, along with Elian's Miami guardian,. Granduncle Lazaro Gonzalez. To the far right, Florida Governor Jeb Bush is portrayed trying to disassociate himself from this political 'no-win' situation.

Site last updated May 2001

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