Original Painting, #TrumpTank, (Fight goes on) 2017.
Original Painting (Synthetic Polymer on Canvas) (50cm x 30cm). Museum Quality!
Coated with clear gloss varnish for protection.
Sorry - NOT AVAILABLE!
This painting was donated towards a social justice exhibition in Philadelphia, USA, November, 2017.
(See the poster image)
Why was this series of paintings created?
These #trumptank paintings take a bit longer to create than most of my other work. From concept design to finishing can take about one month.
* One of the original #trumptank paintings was digitally projected onto a building opposite Trump Towers in New York by #DegenerateArtists . It was a sight to behold! See it here on my Instagram.
But before I get into the technicalities, the first and foremost reason I began to create these paintings was politically motivated. The world was already quite fucked up before, but now we have an absolute moron - Donald Trump - as head of the most powerful country in the world. He's part of a growing global conservatism that embraces borders, prisons, war and starvation. His racism and sexism gets absorbed into everyday culture, and is actively embraced by extreme right wing forces (in elite circles and political establishments). Yet, as always there are positive moments of resistance, and that's what the people in the foreground of these paintings represent. If you're politically aware in a global sense, I won't need to explain where the inspiration for the foreground figures comes from. And for that matter, where the tanks in the streets imagery comes from.
Sci-fi effects
I have an obsession with scenic painting, science fiction films and set design. I really love the way digital animation merges with reality and can create intense and sumptuous pictures. Most of my early creativity (about 20 years ago) showed a deep interest in the contradiction between 3D illusions and 2D surfaces, and I feel like I'm carrying this on until today. Inspiration has also come from the late 19th century Heidelberg School of painters (eg Arthur Streeton, Tom Roberts). From a technical point of view, I really like how that conveyed bright light in their work, and used atmospherics to display depth.
Censorship
Two murals based on the #trumptank series have been made. One of them (see 'street murals' section of this website) was painted in Hosier Lane, Melbourne, Australia (but is no longer visible). The other currently stands in Footscray, but has been censored by Maribyrnong Council, and has a section (Trump's Face) painted over. For a brief overview of this incident, please read this article.
Is this too much for your budget? An affordable gloss poster version (A2, gloss, 170gsm, professionally scanned) of this painting is available.