The Garden of Earthly Delights

A depiction of contemporary earthly pleasures in three panels 123cms x 258cms Acrylic on MDF panels 2011- ongoing. Frequently asked questions..... Will you ever finish it? Yes. There’s a fat lady singing sketched in on the left hand panel and when she’s finished it’s finished. You can follow the progress at: facebook.com/wip.ged Are you celebrating celebrity culture and consumerism, or condemning it? I have tried to keep my views out of it as much as possible. I set out to document the culture and times I live in and leave the value judgments to the viewer. Generally the criticism directed towards this painting (that I’m aware of) relates to a fear that I’m championing all the activities and personalities depicted. I'm assuming this is coming from position that sees late stage Capitalism, consumption, excess and celebrity culture as entirely toxic. However we are where we are, we all participate to some extent with this culture whether we see it as toxic or not. The neutral position hasn't always been maintained though. I also view the garden as a place of sanctuary, 'somewhere over the rainbow'. I have added groups that experience either shame or violent persecution in the outside world, this is true of the picnic scene where all the participants are well known LGBT human rights activists in Uganda who are in constant fear of arrest and worse. This is also the case in the parade where Adult Babies and Transvestites can party without shame, generally I am just looking at us all and thinking how profoundly extraordinary is the world we have made for ourselves and I want you as the viewer to see that too. How many people are in it? Last time I checked there were 385 people, 19 dogs, 8 cats, 5 horses, 5 rabbits, 1 otter, 2 swans, 3 cygnets, 3 deer, 1 duck, and 6 ducklings. More information at www.thegardenofearthlydelights.co.uk