Divisions between Them and Us have long been sources of destruction, divided by nationality, ethnicity, religion, language, skin color, and politics. Understanding we are both Them and Us may lead to a more civilized society. As Albert Einstein said, ‘Nationalism is an infantile disease. It is the measles of Mankind.’
Fenton’s composition draws from Paolo Uccello’s The Battle of San Romano and Edouard Detaille’s Vive L’Empereur, depicting warriors in fantastic headgear. Fenton combines images like a napalm-burned Vietnamese girl and a black man attacked with an American flag to create new meanings.
Inspired by the political climate of building walls, Fenton contrasts this with Emma Lazarus’s welcoming poem on the Statue of Liberty. He hopes his painting will show that merging Them and Us into We leads to a more just, tolerant, and benevolent world.
