Opium of the People - Limited Edition of 25 Print

‘Opium of the People’, Aluminum Dye Sublimation, 100 X 150 cm (40 X 60 inches), 2020. "Religion is the opium of the people" is one of the most frequently paraphrased statements of German theorist Karl Marx. The interpretation of the metaphor in its present context humbly tries to reflect the current state of politics in many western developed societies, and the correlated increasing social polarization. The major inspiration for creating this artwork was George Orwell’s ‘1984’ dystopian novel, which was published in 1949. Some 70 years later, Orwell’s prediction of a Ministry of Truth announcing that ‘war is peace, freedom is slavery and ignorance is strength’ is horrifyingly relevant in today’s political rhetoric, where we are witnessing lies, fake news, trolling and propaganda. Following these lines, the present artwork tries to wake us all up, by demonstrating that ‘natural is artificial’ is an inconceivable lie. When looking at the field of poppies from a distance, they look completely natural. However, when approaching the field and examining the poppies up-close, the bitter truth is revealed - the poppies are all fake and made of glass. Don’t let fake news and deception prevail, and open your eyes and minds to see, understand and appreciate the real truth in which we live. My artworks are usually about uncanny compositions, featuring inconceivable, yet fantastic realities which are portrayed employing dazzling colors and razor-sharp details. These fantastic realities cannot happen in our real world but only within my mind and consequently in my computers, where they are conceived, designed, fashioned, textured, painted and finally photographed. It seems to me that the present artwork fairly represents my artistic practice.