{ Africa } ~ A Case Study

As part of a brainstorming and mind-mapping exercise for my students, I opted for a cover assignment I did some 12 years ago for CMAJ as a Case Study.  The topic was Aids and Indifference towards Africa.
The Canadian Medical Journal devoted a large portion of this issue discussing the Aids pandemic in Africa.  It was an especially sensitive time.  The events of 9/11 were vivid and fresh.  War was imminent in Afghanistan and the Editorial board opted to contrast our response to the Aids pandemic with our response to 9/11.  The Journal questioned why the West were able to summon up, in a matter of months, a quick, massive military response costing countless millions after 9/11; yet millions were dying from Aids in Africa and little mobilization was forthcoming? Patriotism was running high during the insistent beat of the war drums. Kudos to them for attempting such a discourse.
Urgency, indifference, and Africa became the key themes and I opted to use the Morse Code for 'SOS' to convey their dire situation.  The 3 dots, 3 dashes, 3 dots are transformed into the globe with the African continent slowly disappearing before our eyes.
Deja vu all over again?
I can't help but note the sad symmetry with today.  An Ebola crisis grips the region while we preoccupy ourselves with another invasion, this time in Iraq.
The link to the web page: http://www.cmaj.ca/content/167/5/445.full
Acrylic on paper using brushes and sponge rollers for the backdrop; some digital effects, double-exposure and dodging and burning from a geography map.