Blood Diamond: The Story Behind the Painting

My work "Blood Diamond" was inspired by the movie Blood Diamond, starring Leonardo di Caprio and Jennifer Conelly. In 1999, in Sierra Leone, a fisherman named Solomon Vandy is kidnapped when the rebels invade his village and forced him to work in the diamond mines.

Solomon finds a large pink diamond and hides it. However, this occurs with the notice of the commandant of the rebels. When faced with death for his deed, the rebels are attacked by the government army and Salomon is arrested. While in jail, the wounded commandant informs the prisoners that Salomon is hiding the stone. One of those prisoners is the mercenary smuggler Danny Archer from Zimbabwe. A powerful man, Archer releases Salomon and they strike a deal that Salomon will exchange the diamond for the location of his missing family. Using the idealistic American journalist Maddy Bowen, Danny locates the wife and daughters of Salomon in a refugee camp, but is informed that his son has been recruited by the rebels. Salomon and Danny consolidate a partnership, with Salomon looking for and finding his son, and Danny looking for the diamond and finding redemption.

Set against the backdrop of civil war and chaos in 1990's Sierra Leone, Blood Diamond exposes the enslavement of locals by rebels. I highly recommend this movie to be watched by anyone. My hope behind creating this work is that people will be informed of blood diamonds, and ask for conflict free diamonds when purchasing a diamond.