I found out about Mabel Lopez, when I was working on the web component of Baby Index (107, 56). The web component of "Baby Index" involves posting data from the center for missing and exploited children. In working with this data, Mabel Lopez's information kept surfacing. This piece is a meditation on her circumstances. She went missing when she was 8 years old and was kidnapped by her father, who attacked someone with a machete in El Reno Oklahoma. The "Terminal Grain" silo is a point, high up in the surrounding vicinity, which might have been a vantage point for someone witnessing the crime taking place. There are other symbols throughout the piece. One is the angel crashing to the ground. This represents the failure of "guardian angels" to protect children. Some elements are hidden from view, unless the painting is viewed from an angle.

Information