Mixed Media on stretched canvas, ready to hang.

Signed on the front.

Merchande de pommes, or Factory of inequality

A painting based on: “Marchande d’oranges Alexandria”, albumen silver carte-de-visite, by Hippolyte Delie, 1869; background, British Museum colonnade

From the series Hollow People:
While working on this series of 22 paintings over the year of 2018, in my mind I always referred to it as ‘Hollow People’ because the people in the photographs were almost always anonymous. Their images survived but not their names or stories; not their substance.

The series builds on my past work, which explored the impacts of the still image, the anonymous historical image, and existing and imposed narratives, especially as they relate to women.

What is present in these works? They are images that shape cultural and gender identity; they testify to cultural appropriation (multi layers of this going on); they are portraits of beauty, adornment, tribal belonging, petulance, comedy and oppression. But our almost instinctive knowledge of the sitters’ objectification and subjugation is counter balanced by the humour created by the incongruity of their settings. The visual language draws on the history of art and various cultural traditions.