Lamara Mirangi: goodwill artist

Lamara Mirangi (born 1970) became an artist at a mature age. I started drawing almost by accident. But this is exactly the situation when the puzzle comes together and there is a sense of true purpose.

Lamara has a background in chemistry. But before, before the invention of tubes with ready-made paint, all artists were a little chemists. They themselves made blue paint from lapis lazuli and gum, and yellow from salt of chromic acid.

And in general, understanding the structure of substances certainly facilitates the development of painting techniques: impasto or sfumato. It also gives the knowledge that colors affect each other in different ways. After all, red next to green becomes brighter. And from the neighborhood of blue it fades ... But that's not all.

Lamara also worked in the field of computer modeling and created three-dimensional works. Understanding how a particular three-dimensional object looks in space adds confidence and skill to her.

So, Lamara Mirangi started creating paintings in 2005. And the natural talent, which was superimposed on the structured thinking of a chemist and the experience of 3D modeling, gave simply amazing results for a self-taught artist.

It is hard to believe that Lamar did not receive an art education. However, this does not prevent her from taking her rightful place among realist artists.

Lamar has another secret. To understand it, you need to take a closer look at several of her works.

Traveler

A boy 1,5-2 years old sits in a woolen bag behind his mother. He smiles and looks straight at us. His hair is tousled either from the wind or from a recent dream.

Multi-colored stripes and tassels echo the children's energy of absolute contentment. In the modern world of strollers and carriers, we don’t even think about how much more comfortable it would be for a baby to snuggle up to his mother’s back like this, feel completely safe and be the happiest in the world.

But his mother is a refugee, a Yazidi. The father remained to protect the village, perhaps already killed. And women with children and the elderly are once again driven into the mountains by genocide...

This is the case when the image and understanding of the context of the picture are extremely different. If you do not know who the mother of this baby is, you can take the picture for a light genre scene.

But we know that behind this back there is a ruined village, and ahead are weeks and months of starving wanderings. But... at the moment the baby is smiling... this is the very energy that gives strength to survive the past and survive in the future.

panorama of weeping

In the mountain gorge we see dozens of women, children and old people. They sit and stand right on the rocks with very little equipment: kettles and buckets. They fled from genocide and religious intolerance.

People are so crowded in space, and their physical weakness in the face of aggression is so obvious that it becomes uncomfortable. This picture causes mental tension in the viewer. And here familiarity with the context is inevitable ...

Yezidis profess Yezidism (a religion with elements of Zoroastrianism, Christianity and Judaism) and mostly live in Iraq. The first mention of them is found in the XII century. And at that time there were already known cases of persecution against them.

Hundreds of times this people was subjected to genocide. Trees were burned to the ground. Men were killed for not wanting to convert to Islam. Women and children fled to the mountains.

This is the scene that Lamar portrayed. After all, she herself is a Yezidi, and the history of her people is very important to her.

But we see modern clothes on these women and children! Unfortunately, in our time, attacks on representatives of this nationality continue.

In the temple

Nadia Murad, a Yazidi, is a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador and Nobel Prize winner. Her family was subjected to such genocide. In 2014, the village where she lived with her extended family in Iraq was attacked.

Father and five brothers were killed. And she and her two sisters were taken into sexual slavery. She and one sister miraculously escaped and moved to Germany. The fate of the other sister is unknown.

In this painting by Lamara Miranga, a woman entered the main Yazidi temple of Lalesh. She leaned on a stone pillar. Yezidis have a belief. If you hug this pillar, then you will definitely find a soul mate.

Yezidis who escaped from slavery were brought to the same temple. Physically they were alive, but it was almost impossible to cure their souls.

This woman sincerely sympathizes with them. She touches the pillar, which is already polished from the touch of hundreds of thousands of hands of people who wished for more love in their lives.

She herself is like a symbol of the love that is in every such woman. They are so kind and brave that they are not afraid to talk about what is happening. Like Nadia Murad.

Children's dreams

At the heart of the Yezidi religion is a conscious choice of good thoughts and good deeds. After all, they believe that good and evil are transmitted to us from God. And this is only our choice: to be good or evil. 

There are few Yezidis left. Still, hundreds of genocides over many centuries are a difficult test. About 600 Yezidis live in Iraq. And also those who were once able to flee to Russia, Armenia and other countries. Lamara is a descendant of those who once moved to Georgia.

She also created several works with Yezidi children. After all, they are so vulnerable, they need peacetime so much. In any case, children should have cheerful eyes ...

Lamara says: “I would really like people to live peacefully. Of course, this sounds a little trite. But the forces expended on the war could be used for the creation, for the prosperity of our nation.

Belonging to the Yezidi nation, consciously cultivating goodness in everything: in words, in deeds, and in their work. As well as a reverent attitude towards those who are close to her by blood. And also a sincere desire to stop the centuries-old aggression, opposing it only with a good heart and creativity.

This is what makes Lamar a special artist, an artist of good will.

Lamara Miranga's work can be viewed at this link.

English version of the article