Rhetorical Answers To Rhetorical Questions Painting

I consider all of my work to be personal to me to varying degree, but this piece holds a special place in that regard. It was the very last piece produced in my studio before exiting China shortly afterwards, and though I’d already played with Mao’s image more than enough over the years, I knew I was very likely now leaving it behind. I was nonetheless feeling very reflective of my time in China and the things I’d been expressing through my work. It was only a few months prior that I’d created a frenzy by posting a large scale ‘Mao Money’ piece within the public grounds of my studio, which had my phone ringing off the hook with numbers I didn’t recognise within minutes, ordering me to remove it, and this was on a Sunday when no one was around. This was a curious incident because I’d come to believe his image had seen an erosion of impact during my time in China, but on further reflection I came to realise it was myself who’d felt this, and not the people at large. Later in 2019 during China’s National Day military parade, Mao’s image would again be given new prominence in celebration of 70 years Communist rule. This went some way towards confirming what I had suspected about the indirect influence of Mao present day. There’s an assumed taboo about it, which I’d never been able to have anyone successfully elaborate on any further than ‘it’s political’. My lawyer had warned me privately on two separate occasions that the ‘Mao Money’ image might draw unwanted attention, but I felt comfortable dismissing her concerns given that its purpose was to make economic commentary, and not political. It did fascinate me that she was so emphatic. ‘Rhetorical Answers to Rhetorical Questions’… never being able to get a straight answer, or better yet knowing in advance that no matter how you frame the question, you still won’t be able to get to the heart of the matter. Confucius traded for confusion. The work itself is a composite of Maos (if you will), which had been created for a definitively tongue in cheek piece titled ‘Fun With Sprites in ’89’ in June that year (2019). I was again layering the image of Mao, creating differing tones and effects within each, to represent the pervasiveness that lives both at a distance, and at the same time eminently close. There’s a nice decay effect in the midsection, created by the use of a gesso/clay mix, producing that organic distortion across the face. This was intentionally analogous to the statues still standing after all these years, and no doubt something of China I will never forget. That same decay effect is also something of a throwback to the television sets originally built on solid state technology, something I'd already referenced in the 'Solid States' series of edition prints in 2017.

Painting:Gesso on Canvas

Original:One-of-a-kind Artwork

Size:17.7 W x 32.7 H x 0.1 D in

Delivery Time:Typically 5-7 business days for domestic shipments, 10-14 business days for international shipments.