Big family

This painting represents two families: one Nigerian, the other Albanian, but they are one big family.
Most of the victims of trafficking in Italy are of these nationalities.

The children are frenetic, the hardest part was to make them pose still for ten minutes each, and then let them free to paint their portrait with me.

Mothers are special. In the community they call the Nigerian mum "the funniest woman in the world" and it's true, she's always laughing.
The Albanian mum reminds me of my best friend. She's younger than her, she has sad eyes, but she smiles.
I always prepare the canvases in laboratory, usually they are old recycled bedsheets.

Then I take them to the halfway house and after I have made a quick drawing, we paint sitting on the floor, all together.

My favorite part is when mums and kids pose for me and I paint their faces.
They are always very focused on what I am doing, so their eyes point downwards towards the painting.
I have to ask them several times to look at me because they are hypnotized by the painting, as if they are amazed and think "so this is me".