Louie Blaka

2nd Runner-up

"Not Just Pablo"
Acrylic on Canvas
122 x 91.5 cm

This work is the first piece of a larger series titled “Not Just Pablo”. The series is based on the country of Colombia, which for decades has been known for its production of narcotics, in particular the late drug kingpin Pablo Escobar. In this piece the artist is depicting the early stages of one of Colombia’s biggest exports, the coffee bean. Most of its consumers are unaware of the fact that the coffee bean derives from a particular cherry in which the bean is extracted then dried out to become the coffee bean most know and love. The artist depicts the bright and vibrant nature of the coffee cherry with rough textures and jagged brush strokes in order to signify Colombia’s rough history with its reputation and its attempts to bring back its prestige and reclaim its beautiful culture and heritage among South America.