In light of the recent tragedy at the Orlando Pulse Night Club where the United States of America experienced its number one deadliest mass shooting and hate crime against the LGBTQ+ community in its entire 239-year history as a nation, Vereshia Noble, member of DePaul University’s class of 2019, the LGBTQ+ community, and Slytherin House, who I am lucky to call one of my best friends, was deeply appalled and heartbroken by this heinous act of cruelty, hatred, and ignorance.
Inspired by singer and songwriter Sia, who recently paid tribute to the 49 innocent people murdered and 53 injured in a mesmerizing music video for her single, The Greatest, Vereshia took to her own artistic prowess to shine light towards the dire need for an antidote to rid the bigotry and homophobia that is far too common in this world.
Link to Vereshia’s masterpiece
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oG-qjRPfVVU
How it was made
Mediums used: Photoshop CS5
Time it took: Roughly 22 hours
In Her Own Words:
I am so incredibly glad that Sia defined the tone and subject of her video as not simply a child trying to escape some unfathomable, undefined evil, but as a direct reference to the events that occurred that horrid night. The scenes where Maddie Ziegler, lead dancer, displays her LGBTQ flag-inspired rainbow face paint were crucial. Defining the work as definitely representing LGBTQ+ is monumental.
Too many tragedies like this have occurred without proper acknowledgement of not only the severity of the crime in itself, but the fact that so many of these heinous acts are indeed most definitely targeted against LGBTQ+ individuals. This has been going on throughout the course of history, and it has been largely ignored. People do not like what they cannot explain or rationalize, and this alarming ignorance has led to a very prevalent phobia that has in turn resulted in mass slaughter.
The bottom line is that the shooter did not target 49 individual people, but instead an entire community. His intention was to violently maim and injure as many LGBTQ+ individuals as possible in order to send a message that their lives are not as significant, valid, and precious as the majority (the majority, in this case, being people not of the LGBTQ+ community). Personally, as a gay woman of color, my identity and sexuality is significant to me – a part of me and a part of my character. For someone to want to erase me from the planet for that is both unfathomable and unthinkable.
Fun Facts About the Artist
Major:
Chemistry
Pets:
Fraternal twin kittens, a turtle named Tippy, and a few rambunctious rats
Favorite Spot on Campus:
Arts & Letters, 4th floor
Favorite Food:
Spaghetti
Favorite Art Medium:
Watercolors
Current Song Obsession:
“Heathens” by Twenty-One Pilots
What I want to do with my Chemistry Degree:
Forensic Science
Dream Vacation:
The Hills of Ireland
Link to my website: