Reflections on the Bears
Becoming Happy, 2018, 48” x 96”, Mixed Media on Panel
While at first glance Kindler’s 2018 work looks like child’s play with the use of Teddy Bears, but they underline the concern that she has in her look at the loss of innocence in contemporary life and her reflections of finding hope, joy and peace amidst corruption, hate and abuse. The Teddy Bear is innocence and Kindler wants that back.
Kindler tackles 3 different ideas via her motifs in creating a narrative in this work. The first, that of unity through a Zen like understanding of “harm no one” and finding peace within, exemplified by the Zen-like circles. The second, the morphing of a small child becoming a bear cub, reflecting on ideas of reincarnation as the ultimate karma for allowing bears and newborn cubs to be killed in their dens while hibernating, as a result of recent loosening of hunting laws. Lastly, the work titled “They Thought They Could Bury us; They did not Know we Were Seeds” reflects on the oppression of thought, gender, race, ecological preservation, and religion. The “Seeds” offering up a sense of hope for the future.