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Indonesian Army Game Versus People East Timor |
Police versus Miners Game
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Tienenman Hospital Chinese Army Versus Students For Democracy Game 1989 |
Police v Demonstrator at G8 Geneva 1996 |
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African Childrens Army Game (Ongoing) |
Palestine Game (Ongoing) |
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Playstation # IX (Palestine Game)
Oil on Canvas 58ins x 48ins
This painting is one of a series sparked off two years ago, after watching a talented youngster carefully copying video game monsters from planet earth 2500AD and other planets. Grotesquely ugly, evil and violent.
It gave me to realise that many of my paintings over the years whether about Vietnam, Africa, Tienanmen Square, East Timor, Yugoslavia, Middle East or Northern Ireland, could easily fall into the video game category, possibly with more validity. With 20th and 21st century creatures, maybe not so physically revolting but equally crass, vicious and indifferent to the feelings and sufferings of innocent people. Playing unjust and brutal games instigated by religion or greedy capitalism. Hence my use of the Playstation logo, which inevitably has already pressed a few buttons. Maybe an indication of its effectiveness?
Fifty five years ago as a student, my role models in the art game were Breugel, Goya, Daumier, Picasso, they still are; plus a few more like Guttuso, Dix, Grosz, Leon Golub, John Keane, Steve Bell, Steadman etc. I still have implicit faith in the strange power of the drawn or painted image.
People are outraged when they see a painting in a gallery about an atrocity they may have hardly noticed in the media. And when in the bookshops we flick through the hundreds of glossy magazines with their exquisite photographs we still pause when we come across a drawing, a reproduced painting or cartoon strip.
I feel it important that some of us should, where necessary draw attention to such brutalities and injustices and ruffle the feathers of capitalism and religion.
Incidentally I have also been known to paint portraits, landscapes, beaches and other more pleasant, non-controversial aspects life.
Date modified 5th October 2009
