Pharrajimos “The Devouring”

Acrylic on board, 60 x 120 cm, Artist’s Collection

This painting is about a dark period in Romany history called the Pharrajimos, “The Devouring,” the Romani name for the Holocaust. This anonymous Romani woman is full of life and colorfully dressed as she gathers wood in a hostile environment. Her hair is braided in the traditional manner, and she wears gold—a ready currency. Wisps of smoke escape from the crematorium in the background, representing the loss of many different people, including Jews, Romani, and LGBTQ. The total number of the Nazis’ Romani victims is unknown; however, historians believe that 25 to 50 percent of Europe’s total Roma population was killed during the Holocaust. While the Romanichal of the British Isles were not affected, there are stories that the Nazis had lists of Romani living there.