"The wrong ones won the Sakharov Prize" - Oscar Olivares is the Painter of the Protests
He is the painter of protests in Venezuela. Oscar Olivares now raises his voice against the recent Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, with which the Venezuelan opposition was honored for their fight against the socialist government of President Nicolás Maduro.
Oscar Olivares is just 21 years old. Nevertheless, he has become an icon of the protest movement in Venezuela. Venezuelan government opponents are currently experiencing their darkest hour. The party alliance of the opposition is divided, the bloody mass protests have failed. President Maduro again has things firmly under control.
He has immortalized many of the more than 121 dead as heroes, including the teenager Neomar Lander or the ambulance man Paul Moreno. He is convinced that these resistance heroes deserve the Sakharov Prize, not the parties. From his perspective, they and their families are the heroes because they so much suffered and lost.
At the peak of the protests in Venezuela, Oscar Olivares brought art to the barricades. Many demonstrators printed his motives on their shields. Illustrations of Virgin Mary in particular were very popular.
Nevertheless, they put down the resistance. Bloody ended by the police and the military. However, Oscar Olivares continues to fight. He paints with many other murals in the city that are supposed to be the message of hope.
The extreme crisis attract increasing attention. Even children are looking for food in the garbage. The crime is increasing. Moreover, even if the artist's digital artworks are beeing sold well abroad, he cannot live a normal life in Venezuela. It has become far too risky on the streets to go out like a normal young adult.
