Deluge

Painted after the work Upheaval, Deluge (2023) also connects with the Jungian concept of the apocalypse archetype.  This work responds to the metacrisis, specifically addressing the impact of new technologies. Digitally manipulating a previously transposed romantic painting: Francis Danby's The Deluge (1839) and incorporating the appropriated angel from Alonso Cano's St John the Evangelist's Vision of Jerusalem (1635) symbolises the impact of information technology on society and the loss of traditional values.  A digital composition is reinterpreted as an acrylic painting on canvas. 

The transposition of digital images to a painting on canvas creates a tangible presence and aura. The materiality of a painting makes visible, textural marks that indicate gesture, connecting it to the physical.  This work explores the notion of authenticity and the proliferation of image in the digital age.

‘Even the most perfect reproduction of a work of art is lacking in one element: its presence in time and space, its unique existence at the place where it happens to be.’ (Benjamin, 1935)