Laylah Ali

The colors this gouache painting by Laylah Ali correlate with the somber and isolated themes brought out by the artists eerie depictions of people. With the exception of reddish-brown highlights on the people's skin and clothes, the hues are analogous, cool colors. The dark blue geometric heads give a mechanistic feel to the generally harsh or painful expressions on the arguers' faces. The colors of the clothing also help define the segregation between the blue-suited policemen-like man and child, and the four other men dressed in more natural colors. The light blue background also transitions to a slightly darker shade in the bottom two frames, reflecting the increase in tension in the "story".