Lithium, 2010
Oil on canvas
30 by 26 inches (approx)
Sold and shown at the time as part of Toxic Mimics, Antwerp. This was also the image on the poster for the show.
The term "toxic mimics" came from a dissertation I read online at the time. I borrowed the term to talk about a new reality of substituted experience, as social media was still very new when I made this work.
A show about faking, coping, masking, "presentationalism" etc.
This show was the first time I started getting negative reactions to my work that were just a straightforward description of the work and it's intentions, but referenced in the negative.
"These people seem happy, but there is something off about it. I think you could make them happier. They should be pretty."
In the era of visual convergence -- a substituted experience for making art -- let's call it 2014 through covid, there was no room for anything other than literalism, and artists were expected to be optimistic about this new reality.
The conversation around art, if there was one at all, was solidly mind-numbing for me. Are you rich? Is it beautiful? Is it giving positive vibes? Does it celebrate an accelerating wealth gap? Why isn't this painting the price of a single-family home?
The gallery involved didn't like this show, so much so that for the last few years (and still at the time of writing this,) the link to the show on their "past exhibitions" page takes you to something about another artist.