Waterlilies and Prostitution

lily pad painting (early stages)

In my current artwork I am using lily pads to talk about human trafficking and sex slavery.  For those of you who have been wondering how water lilies tie in with sex trafficking, keep reading. If you already have an idea, enjoy the pictures, look at more of my in progress lily pad art and keep reading just in case there is something new.  Be sure to like my Facebook page while you are at it.

Detail of lily pad (early stages)

For starters, I am comparing of the underground root system of the plants to networking system of human trafficking, prostitution, and sex slavery.  The intricate roots are located in dirty, slug and leech infested waters several feet below the surface. Traffickers and pimps manage to go unnoticed and stay just below the surface under the guise of a massage parlor owner or one of many other professions.  The dirty water tends to be hidden by the beauty of the flowers much like the happenings in the sex industry are disguised by the women with tough skin and fake smiles.

Waterlilies can often have up to 50 lily pads all connected to, and working for, the one root system.  In larger species such as the Amazon Waterlily these lily pads can grow up to 6 feet in diameter. The edges and underside often times have sharp spines and air pockets. The lily pads bring back chlorophyll to the roots and the beautiful flowers often bring back oxygen and allow the plant to reproduce. 

Beginning of some watercolors and upcycled shrinky dink

With their impressive size it is no surprise that this gorgeous and aggressive plant can easily take over a lake and choke out all other life in a body of water.  These plants have learned to adapt for survival even if it is at the expense of other life.  Many of the women and children in the industry have been forced to survive often times at the expense of each other.  This keeps them submissive and trustworthy allowing the viscous cycle of sex slavery to continue.

Here is another example of how I am using water lily to represent and talk about sexual addiction.

These are just the basics of my analogy for this body of artwork developed by significant research.  As I continue to research and develop the ideas further I will share more.