Jaynelle Across the Sea (World War II)

Jaynelle Across the Sea is part of a series entitled War in Heaven, which consists of large-scale, fractured portraits created from torn paper, tape, and charcoal. Each portrait represents a life impacted by war. The child pictured in Jaynelle Across the Sea was the artist's cousin, rendered by James Drake from a photograph taken of the girl shortly before her death. Jaynelle's father was an Air Force officer stationed with his family in Japan at the end of World War II. The family was in Japan in 1945 when the first atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Jaynelle and her family were not in the immediate vicinity of either bombing; yet, a number of months later, while still in Japan, Jaynelle died inexplicably. It was later determined that the 3-year-old had a brain tumor that the family has always attributed to the effects of radiation.

The monumental scale of the portrait brings a sense of epic proportion to Jaynelle's story; at the same time that the commonplace, studio portrait style suggests that she was just one of millions to experience the effects of war. While her story took place "across the sea," it is directly connected to New Mexico's history as the birthplace of the atomic bomb.