-The people of North Korea are culturally the same as the people of South Korea, but when a line was cut through the country after the Second World War, and different governments were implemented the outcome was disastrous for Korea. The people of Korea are still at war with themselves after over 50 years, and military service is compulsory due to this.
-Another example can be seen with Cyprus as the north of the country was cut by Turkey and remains their "property", leaving the city of Nicosia as a complete ghost town, hollow and empty. To go across the boarder people must show their passports. Both countries are still at war and also implement national military service on the youth of their countries.
-There is also the division of Palestine into Israel, one that has left what remains of the original country as just The Gaza Strip. Need I remind you that national service is also compulsory for Israelis...I am noticing a pattern here...
-The inspiration for the Borderline of this image came from the division between East and West Germany that was in place until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. This wall divided the capital city in half, with families separated and a 'Death Strip' or Todesstreifen implemented to kill people trying to cross the border (both in the city of Berlin and on the deutsch-deutsche Grenze). This is why I chose to depict Germanic buildings, since the country has a long history of division despite being culturally the same country, speaking the same language.
Is there an obvious double meaning for the word borderline?
The borderline between Cities, or Countries... Or Borderline Personality Disorder. Either way, both are self harming.
I can really see parallels between the borderlines of a state, town or country, with the borderline of BPD (Borderline Personality Disorder). The disorder is characterized by unusual variability between depth of mood. These moods effect the personal relationships as well as the cognitive ability of the sufferer. They are haunted by feelings of guilt and lack of self worth. The sufferer of BPD wants to hurt themselves because they feel hopeless and they hate themselves. They harm themselves physically and emotionally, feeling they deserve to be punished, abused and hurt, generally choosing a razor when all other self harming methods don't work. The scars that are left are reminders, showing the sufferer that their pain is real and physical, not just in their head. Just like the scars of borderlines on the planet that have resulted from history. They are difficult not to see and take years to heal, sometimes remaining for always.
The most difficult aspect of drawing this image was to create convincing dripping blood. In the end the use of Indian Ink mixed with thick water colours finally gave me the look I desired...
...well this was a dark post, hopefully the next will be all rainbows and smiles.
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