‘I was born in black suffering’ by Šaban Iliaz (born in the Republic of Macedonia)
“Oh yes, that’s me all right
tramping along the road
barefoot, ravenous-
and on bad days
the wind blows
rain pours
and there’s nowhere for me to shelter…
Why did you bring me in the world, mother dear?
you bore me to a life of black suffering
maybe you gave birth to me on a dark road like this
my lips tremble, rain soaks me through
and there’s not even you, dear mother, to see me.”
Inspired by the poem, “I was born in black suffering”, written by Saban Iliaz, our collage has recreated the themes of darkness and desolation which continue to be apparent throughout the piece of writing. We have used an array of dark shades to strongly represent the sombre mood the poem is trying to portray. Black symbolises the ‘dark road’ and ‘bad days’ mentioned in the poem as well as the grief suffered by the character who has lost their mother. The image of the women is in black and white in order to characterise her despair and sorrow due to being in such a horrific situation. Additionally, we have used the colour blue to represent the pouring rain, with rain drops falling and soaking the character. The collage also includes imagery of wind which goes well with the theme and sets the scene of a dark, cold and miserable night.
Overall, through the usage of imagery, this collage attempts to explain the thoughts and feelings the author is trying to depict. As a team, we enjoyed the experience of putting ideas together and ensured that everyone’s ideas were somehow implemented into the final version of the collage. This way we were able to produce a piece which everyone agreed on and was proud of.
European London 