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Showboat
1.4m x 80cm Oil on Canvas. Again, exploring moral conflicts, this painting emerged from the news stories of the disastrous flight from Afghanistan which were overridden in some media by the quandry of saving some cats and dog. The saving of these animals was to somehow symbolise human compassion and civilisation, but at the expense of de-valuing human life.
The Gossip of Grace Moore
‘The Gossip of Grace Moore’ is 80 x 40cm. They didn’t burn bras really, women. Though it would be a good idea. Grace Moore took hers off and put it in a bin during a Miss World contest in 1969 as a protest against the parade. The de-braing (from under her shirt) became bra burning, a much more radical and historically combustible reference to the destruction of cultural identity and fascism. The media whipped this singular act into mass bra burnings and this is the image we retain in our minds. Anyway, women don’t need bras anymore because Kim Kardashians shapewear provides everything the natural body needs. Hurrah for Kimmy.
Fools Gold
‘Fools Gold’ oil on canvas 40cm x 20cm so a small piece. Lots of small pieces on the go at the moment next to a giant epic one which is probably going to take half the year. It takes a lot of sociolinguistic not to look at work when it’s on your mind, but it’s best to turn it around and let it dry and see it fresh for me, during the stages of working when I do a lot of layering.
The Draw of Aldebergh
34 x 20cm. Oil on canvas. Made after a recent trip to Suffolk to Aldeburgh. Actually, to be fair, the power station is Sizewell, and work on reactor 3 is just beginning. My eldest so. is fascinated with nuclear power and can actually explain it (I think), so we spent a fair bit of time on the beautiful beach at Sizewell. As ever, my subject matter is contradictions and confusions and me trying to figure out what all this is about - where rules actually make sense and demonstrate consistency. Aldebergh and nearby coastal towns are absolutely train set model villages and the price tag reflects this, yet Sizewell looms on the horizon like a futuristic menace. We always associate nuclear reactors with something we don’t want to live near, to wastelands and forgotten parts of the country, but this really isn’t true. We live alongside all this stuff, just often not so visually dominant as a nuclear power station, whose presence doesn’t seem to inhibit house prices. I’m glad of this. I’m glad that there appears to be some equality in where such places are built as we tend to think only those without power and influence get these places dumped on their doorstep. I find the place intriguing and fascinating and quite beautiful. It is, after all, magic. And I can see the wind farms on the horizon … so this painting explores the perceived toxicity of such environments.. truth or concept?
Blue Angel, 2.2m x 1.85m Oil on Canvas
Addressing inherted superiority, the women guard the blue angel who has set a fire. They are getting told off. The Blue Angel, biblically, represents strength and justice. The figures in the background throw flames from the fire rather than water on to it reflecting the futility of their grasp on power.
'Garden of Eden, 2023' After Rubens and Bruegel
Oil on Canvas 2.2m x 1.85
Ruben and Bruegels' Garden of Eden was very much a romantic biblical scene. Taking this as a base for todays Eden, I have shifted colour, animals and god to be man shaping woman in a classic garden with the house symbolising his decline in the background. It also hints at female mutilation to achieve an unreal beauty.
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