The Cross Series
You are invited to view my solo exhibit of 50 crosses through November 20, 2022 at First Presbyterian Church of Brighton, Michigan, at 300 E. Grand River. Additional info on flyer.
The Cross Series includes works in many media, many dedicated to the victims of terrorism and violence in all parts of the world. Over the years, I have often created works with crosses in them, and I find some peace responding to events through this expression. I want to communicate to the viewer that in every situation, there is hope. More crosses and other subjects are included on the other pages of this site, too. To see my secular art, go to my Facebook page and www.artistpeggynbrewer.com.
The Cross Series includes works in many media, many dedicated to the victims of terrorism and violence in all parts of the world. Over the years, I have often created works with crosses in them, and I find some peace responding to events through this expression. I want to communicate to the viewer that in every situation, there is hope. More crosses and other subjects are included on the other pages of this site, too. To see my secular art, go to my Facebook page and www.artistpeggynbrewer.com.
"Cross for Brussels," Oil
On the morning of March 22, 2016, three coordinated nail bombs exploded in the Brussels Airport and a Brussels metro station, killing 32 victims and 3 terrorists, and injuring over 300, with a fourth bomb found later. It was the deadliest attack in Belgium’s history, and three days of national mourning was declared. 
"Cross of Nails," Mixed Media
Four nuns of the Missionaries of Charity, the order founded by Blessed Mother Teresa, were among 16 people killed by gunmen in the Yemeni port city of Aden on Friday, March 4, 2016. Four gunmen told a guard they were on a visit to their mother, entered the senior care home with rifles and opened fire. While two gunmen surrounded the home, the others moved from room to room, handcuffing victims and shooting them in the head. Missionaries of Charity nuns were also attacked in Yemen in 1998, when gunmen killed three nuns in the port city of Hodeida. Aden’s Christian churches have also come under attack, with a Catholic church in the district of Crater torched and sabotaged by Islamic extremists. Cross of Nails especially remembers...
Sister Anslem, Sister Reginette, Sister Judith, and Sister Marguerite were serving as caregivers at the Missionaries of Charity's convent and nursing home in Aden, Yemen, during the attack on March 4, 2016.
"Cross for Spain," Oil
Islamic extremists killed 15 and injured 120 in Barcelona and Cambrils in August 2017. Additional plots were thwarted by Spanish authorities with terrorists killed both in police raids and during their own bomb making efforts. Among the dead in Barcelona was an American celebrating his one-year anniversary with his bride. 
“Cross for Aleppo,” Oil
On April 27, 2016, over 60 people including children were killed in overnight bombings of Aleppo, Syria; about half of them were in a field hospital of Doctors Without Borders. 
“Cross for Kabul,” Oil
A Taliban attack in Kabul, Afghanistan injured 327 and killed about 30 in a suicide car bombing followed by a suicide shooting. The powerful explosion deafened survivors for 20 minutes, as part of the Taliban's 2016 spring offensive. 
“Cross for Philippines," Oil
In May 2017, militants launched attacks in the heart of the Philippine's Islamic faith, holding a Catholic priest and others hostage in Marawi and destroying a church and much of the city's center in the predominantly Roman Catholic nation. In two months, over 500 people were killed. 
“Cross for Burkina Faso,” Oil
In Burkina Faso, jihadists raided the Splendid Hotel in the capital, Ouagadougou, on January 15, 2016, where 126 hostages were later freed, more than 50 were wounded, and 30 were left dead. 
“Cross for Manchester,” Oil
Targeting young girls at the Ariana Grande concert in the Manchester Arena, a large shrapnel-filled suicide bomb that exploded on May 22, 2017 killed 23 people and injured 250. The American singer was on her "Dangerous Woman Tour" in the United Kingdom. The attacker was "a soldier of the Khilafah," who killed an eight-year-old girl among the 10 dead under age 20. 
"Cross for Britain," Oil
The London Tube attack on September 15 that injured 22 people was the fifth of 2017. Prayers renewed in 2022 with the passing of the Queen Mother. 
"Cross for Las Vegas," Monoprint
The deadliest mass shooting in America occurred on October 1, 2017 when a gunman fired into concertgoers on the Las Vegas strip, killing 58 and injuring 851 by firing more than 1,100 rounds from his 32nd floor hotel room, then killing himself. No motive has been given. |
"Cross for Nigeria" (detail), Oil
On January 30, 2016, Nigeria’s homegrown Islamic extremists Boko Haram firebombed huts killing at least 86, including children burned alive in the Dalori village and camps housing 25,000 refugees. Over 60 people were treated for burns after the four-hour siege. 
"Cross with Barbed Wire," Mixed Media
As I created the original image, I intuitively added the double collage cross, which now implies the twin towers to me. At the time, constant media images were showing the barbed wire on Osama binLaden’s compound in Pakistan. 
"Cross for Jakarta," Oil
On January 14, 2016, ISIS attackers set off suicide bombs and exchanged gunfire outside a Starbucks cafe in Jakarta, Indonesia. Two days before, jailed radical Islamic cleric Abu Bakar Bashir appealed to an Indonesian court to have his conviction for funding a terror training camp overturned, arguing that his support for the camp was an act of worship. Seven were killed and 20 injured. 
"Cross for Boston," Mixed Media
On April 15, 2013, two pressure cooker bombs exploded seconds and yards apart near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing three but maiming and injuring 264. As video of it played over and over, the smoke and destruction called me to create a cross. Days later, two terrorists were hunted down after killing an MIT policeman and injuring a policeman who survived severe blood loss. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was captured alive and said he and his brother were self-radicalized and had planned to bomb Times Square next. 
"Cross for Roseburg," Mixed Media
The gunman who opened fire at Umpqua Community College targeted Christians specifically, ordering them to stand and saying, "Good, because you're a Christian, you're going to see God in about one second." Thus 10 people were killed and seven injured on Thursday, October 1, 2015. 
"Cross for San Bernardino," Acrylic
On December 2, 2015, 14 people were killed and 22 were seriously injured when Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik,homegrown violent extremists who were married with a child, targeted a San Bernardino County holiday party. The couple had amassed a large stockpile of weapons, ammunition, and bomb-making equipment in their home. 
“Cross for North Korea,” Oil
Photos confirm that secret prisons where people are tortured, raped and murdered have been expanding in North Korea where Christians are intensely persecuted and punished for even owning a Bible. It is unknown how many Christians have been martyred in North Korea. The American flag represents Otto Warmbier, the college student who was returned comatose from North Korea after 17 months in detention, being brutalized and terrorized for merely taking a poster, only to die days after his release in June 2017. 
“Cross for Egypt,” Oil
Suicide bombers killed nearly 50 Christians in two churches during Palm Sunday worship on April 9, 2017. Wounding an additional 150, the Islamic State focused the violence on Holy Week celebrations leading up to Easter in two cities, less than one week after the Egyptian president met with the US president, and weeks before Pope Francis was to visit Egypt. 
"Cross for Coronavirus Victims," Acrylic
Painted on Holy Thursday before Good Friday and Easter Sunday 2020, it contains much symbolism for Christians and is open to secular interpretations as well. The lion and the lamb have many meanings, including representing peace, the end of fear. |
"Cross for China," Oil (detail)
A minister's wife was bulldozed into a ditch and buried alive in front of congregants in April of 2016 protesting the demolition of Beitou Church in Hena province city of Zhumadian. Thousands of churches have been destroyed and many pastors arrested; about 5 percent of the 1.4 billion in China are thought to be Christians. Over 2,000 churches in southern China have had to remove outdoor crosses that had been up for decades. 
"Cross for FGM," Oil
In the first half on 2017, three people in Michigan were indicted for performing female genital mutilation as part of a vast worldwide underground which practices various degrees of genital cutting including virtually castrating young girls to limit their sexual pleasure and libido throughout their lifetime. This barbaric human rights violation is justified as a cultural belief. For more information, go to www.ahafoundation.org. 
"Cross for Paris," Oil
The world was stunned on November 13, 2015 when terrorists coordinated seven distinct attacks with six shootings and three explosions in Paris, killing 140 people and injuring 350. French President Francois Hollande announced a national state of emergency. In a crowded theatre, witnesses heard shouts of "Allahu Akbar" just before the gunmen took up positions on the mezzanine and opened fire on the crowd. 
“Cross for Mali,” Oil
Merging terrorist groups took hostages and left 20 dead on November 20, 2015 at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Bamako, Mali. 
“Cross for Mogadishu,” Oil
Over 30 people were killed and over 50 injured on Sunday, February 19, 2017 when a car bomb exploded near a restaurant in a busy market. Aimed at killing and maiming civilians, many of whom were burned beyond recognition, the blast in Somalia's capital occurred several hours after al-Shabab denounced Somalia's new president as an "apostate." 
“Cross for Lee Rigby,” Oil
British Army soldier Lee Rigby was off duty on May 22, 2013 as he walked along Wellington Street in London when he was run down and then hacked with knives and a cleaver and nearly beheaded in the afternoon by two Britons of Nigerian descent who were raised as Christians and converted to Islam. "You people will never be safe," said one in a long video shot at the scene. 
“Cross for Mosul Women,” Oil
ISIS executed 250 women in Mosul for refusing to become sex slaves under the group's "sexual jihad." When they refused to accept marriages to terrorists, they were butchered, sometimes along with their families, on April 20, 2016. 
"Cross for America," Oil
Painted when a lone terrorist deliberately attacked politicians and police during a practice for the Congressional Baseball Game for Charity, which has been played since 1909. On June 4, 2017, Congressman Steve Scalise was among several wounded by a gunman who specifically targeted Republicans. What has represented a friendly game between politicians for over 100 years reflected the political animosity infecting America. Had not Capitol Hill police been there in Alexandria, Virginia, everyone present would have been massacred. 
"Cross for Yazidi Women and Their Babies,” Oil
Captured Yazidi women are treated as sex slaves or spoils of war by ISIS, and some are driven to suicide. Women and girls who refuse to convert are tortured, raped and eventually murdered. Babies born in the prison where the women are held are taken away to unknown fates. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yazidis |