‘Burden’, 48″ X 60″, oil on canvas, 1994. I remember it well, so long ago now, at a typical physical art show, you can see the painting in person. The title is on the wall, sometimes. A friend whispered in my ear, “just number them”. I see now the wisdom in that statement. You shouldn’t…
I have been thinking on similar themes, how to respond to events that do touch us but which are remote from us. As a democracy we cannot escape that we sent our soldiers to Iraq and Afganistan, and as it happens I pass by and cannot help but observe the human effects in my daily work (I am in the UKs leading military hospital but not directly involved). So I find no meaningful answer in my art. I think you are braver in yours.
Injustice has been a theme in many of my works throughout my time as a painter. I am fortunate to be in a safer more open society than many of the subjects of my work. And as such is the case I feel compelled to speak out, or paint, about what I see in the world. I have children and grandchildren and worry about the mess this planet has become. And thank you again for your kind words.