Molly loves millions
Mollie, the super vain little horse from George Orwell's book Animal Farm, in the opera of the same name by composer Alexander Raskatov (1953), tiptoes seductively around man mr. Pinklington who promises her alle the bling bling in the world in excjange for sex.
Oh, and Mollie lusts after everything shiny and glittering and is willing to do anything for it. Sh embodies absolute materialism made flesh wich all idealism had been wrung and from wich everything will succumb.
Though by doing so she betrays the ideology of Animalism that all animals are equal and man is evil, an exploiter. She shouldn't be in league with that. But, the tinsel clearly comes before ideals with her. The temptation is too great.
In the opera Animal Farm, Holly Flack, who plays Mollie, raises her horses legs in the air and sings, in the highest register - one and a half not higher than the glorious note from Köningin der nacht - "My cunt loves kitch".
What a stroke of genius that describes in 4 words what Mollie stands for.
Admiration for the lyrics and admiration fot the aria and admiration for Holly Flack who effordlessly sings those high notes. The text inspired me to create a visual translation of those 4 words.
This work was exibited at Art Muze's Exhibition in Eindhoven and caught the attention of sheik Abdel Shalem. His three wives were delighted with the work.
However I had to make a few adjustments.
The tinsel was replaced with gold leaf and the fake jewelry was replace by real jewelry and gems. And each of his three wives got their own version.
I'm not allowed to share information about the costs.
Killer queen, the queen is dead
The killerqueen holds her right hand as if she could pull out a gun like that. In her left hand she has a knife. And apparently she has cut someone in half. Because where is the top of the mannequin anyway?
Did she maybe eat it. Some people eat flesh to become 1with the one they are eating and to literally diminish their power.
And maybe that's why she is starting to turn into a barbie doll, at least her left arm is already completely transformed.
Her right leg already has the unnatural sheen of a mannequin.
The lyrics of the rockband Queen, mention Marie Antoinette, the queen of France who lived during the "Wig Era". Marie Antoinette were beheaded at 16 oktober 1793.
The royal jewel
I discovered that a rose is called Royal Jewel. Royalty and jewels appeal to the imagination and I dream away to royal palaces decorated with gold, velvet, precious paintings and murals.
I think of the annual royal reception in Holland where citizens are allowed to attend in the presence of the royal family.
Of course prinses Beatrix of the Netherlands is a Royal Jewel and her broche is definitely a royal jewel as well.
Christa, Eve, Johanna, Mary M. and Mary with lam
What would the world have looked liked if Jezus Christ had been a woman?
The garden path
In this work I have incorporated Polaroids - an old photographic process - that landscapes depict Dutch peasant life as I know it from my childhood: the fields, the farms, the berries, the animals. They breathe nostalgia and are refined. The shapes are poetic and exhibit the soft, creamy structure that is characteristic of Polaroid and the colors are in harmony with each other.
The background, the passe-partout, is from a different art movement. Coarser, wilder. Wild paint strokes like those of the paint gorilla Karel Appel, who literally threw his paint onto the canvas. Not with a brush. Karel went to war with paint rollers and putty knives or threw the paint directly from the bucket onto the canvas.
The colors are silver and gray like the steel and reflective glass from which the towers are made. And the shapes are blocks like the prefabricated blocks with which modern buildings are constructed.
The frame is covered with newspaper articles. The news is all around us. Invades via TV, telephone, newspaper and internet. The news is about conflict, disagreement, danger and aggression. And if it is positive, it is sensational. There will never be a message like: “Thankfully nothing exciting happened today. Everything was satisfactory.” We find that contented world in that small space in the center of the image.
John is dead, don't let him die
Commissioned by Remastered Art, I made new work based on a portrait of an unknown man that was photographed around 1900.
This work was exhibited at the Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven in 2022.