Inside, we are all alike.

One of the most important things that I learned while in France, other than my art education, was The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The 30 Articles in this Declaration is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace for all members of the human family, just as the 81 Verses of the Tao Te Ching is for self-realisation.

Two Articles from this Declaration that stand out prominently for me - Article 1 and Article 19 - both of which I’ve used on numerous occasions in my work on t-shirts and paintings. Article 19 is important to me as an artist being able to have freedom of expression. Article 1 is important to me as a fellow human being able to live in harmony with others and with myself.

“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.”

It’s not easy to get people to treat everyone equally as our society is one that teaches kids to appreciate people with well-paying jobs and not normal workers, people who have more and not less. This is not necessarily a good thing and I hope to see this approach change one day.

Hopefully, people will one day get the idea that we are all not made equal. Everyone is different and has a different role to play in life with equal dignity and respect.

Not every part of the car is the engine - but they’re all equally important in its own way to make sure it functions properly as a whole. They all need to work in tandem and in connection with each other to make sure it works properly. If you remove just the tyres, which is the lowest part of the car, it stops functioning.

We should learn to see each other as equals, or at least respect each other as equals, bearing in mind that we are all different and yet we are all the same and part of the whole. Ego has taken centre stage in the world. Until we are able to accept each other’s differences and live with that, the world will be in chaos.

We are just like a driver in this current vehicle - black, white, yellow, millionaire, immigrant, etc. Inside this vehicle is a temporary driver, one who is not permanently attached to this body. On the outside, we are all different. We look different. We act differently. We are different. Inside, we are all alike. Energy.