Animal Saints (2017 - 2024) (Digital)

Animals are sentient and we treat them appallingly. 

The oldest and most original art is the depiction of animals. 

Animals were once were revered.

The more recent pieces below were inspired by Albrecht Dürer. The older ones were made by blending influences from the European medieval tradition with Mesoamerican Art and were done when I first moved the USA.

I wanted to use bold single colours in these next paintings after reading about the role of colour in the Ancient Americas.

In Mesoamerican mythology, colours had specific, codified spiritual meanings, for example, for the Mayan and Nahua people, each of the four compass points was assigned a colour: white, red, yellow, black (N,E,S,W).

With each of these colours also having a symbolic significance, for example, red represented the rising of the sun, but also death; and rebirth - the perpetual return of life from death.

In addition, to the four classical compass directions, there was also a fifth point, represented by a central tree, or tree of life, which gave rise to all forms of life. This central tree was symbolised by the colour green.

Also, I was going to make a drawing around the Xoloitzcuintli, or Mexican Hairless Dog, which is believed to be the first dog ever domesticated in the America, though given the number of pugs in LA, I thought they were a better [funnier] subject.

And indeed, pugs themselves have a strange and long history, originating in Ancient China as the cherished royal dogs of ruling Emperors, before being eventually imported into the Western world in the sixteenth century, becoming popular with Dutch royalty, and court society across Europe, even appearing in several portrait commissions by the Spanish Master, Francisco Goya.

Then, a little later, in 1745, William Hogarth, included his pet pug - named ‘Trump’ - in his self-portrait, “the painter and his pug” – which is the best and funniest painting in the Tate Britain. (And you should see if you are in London, it is in display room 1730, on the main floor.)

These drawings were based on medieval christian depictions of the afterlife.

I wanted to include modern symbols of space exploration, as a joke about how the sky and heavens were conflated in the past, and to contrast this with our understanding and exploration of space.

Also there is a veneration for technology and astronomy and space exploration which seemed to fit. The cosmonauts, in particular, were venerated like saints, especially Laika, the first dog in space, which calls back to the theme of pugs as saints, which is also a joke about the current cult of the pug.

The drawings also play with the idea of the codified colours of mesoamerica, and include some design motifs originating from ancient mexico (some earlier saint animal drawings contained hopi pottery and rug design motifs).

I was exploring using themes and designs from native america and mesoamerica, and contrasting these with early european motifs. Partially, the motivation of this, was to explore the blending of european and indigenous culture that is present in the americas, and especially Los Angeles.