Political Art, Remember, Remember….
“Sanitised Destruction of Democracy” by artist J.A. McCullough
Like most people on this planet, if you’ve been to an art gallery anywhere in the world, you’re likely to have stumbled across the artwork by an artist who lived during a time of turbulence and the only way to process living through any kind of trauma is usually to document it, whether it’s with a camera (in modern times) or in the past, and now, on the canvas.
Like many artists in history, my artist mother is no different in that the events that impact her life inevitably filter through into her paintings. I thought it would be appropriate to share this painting of my mother today, on the day of the general election in the US. This painting is titled “Sanitised Destruction of Democracy” and was painted between 2019 and 2020. It began with the person wearing a hazmat suit - one of the many times my mother had seen the future before it took place - the approaching pandemic, as you well know. I'm sure you can discern a few subtle symbols in this painting, such as the geographical shape of the US landmass and the fragments of the American flag bleeding out from the impaled bull that represents our culture, normalising Trump’s intentions as it seems he is himself above any law.
Even in this “free speech” time, artists like my mother and I are cautious about sharing our political work when we should be sharing our expressions of how we see the world and daring to speak out even if it challenges what others might think. I often reflect on many of my favourite artists throughout history who have been in the background during political tension and had to visually express their feelings just to process what was happening. Through their processing, we now have a record of historical events, and yet, in viewing their work, I can speculate on how they felt when making the piece and certainly on when they shared it, a brave deed for sure.
I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on seeing my mother’s painting, so please do get in touch or add a comment below.
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Remember, remember the 5th of November….
I took this selfie after I’d finished several rounds of chemo and was about to have a rest before another set of chemo drugs.
For me, this is not about Guy Fawkes, bonfires, and fireworks, but rather, it is my anniversary of being declared cancer-free! I’ve been cancer-free for 3 years today! So much has happened since that wonderful news - my hair has grown back, I’m able to navigate a room without being exhausted, I’ve had my left breast amputated and replaced with a general numbness that covers half of my torso, I feel like I’ve aged physically and spiritually and mentally….and my younger brother has died, and so has my dad.
But I am alive and getting better day by day, and I’m constantly expressing gratitude for being cancer-free. I understand that we are so much greater than our physical experience - an ever-expanding self-discovery on my part that has undoubtedly been enhanced by training in reiki.
I kept a blog throughout my cancer experience, which probably helped me stay sane during one of the most terrifying years of my life, and here I am trying again to keep a blog going. Not with the eye-boggling horrors of a killer illness, but hopefully interesting.
May I ask those who read this post to help me help others by sharing my blog with anyone you might know who might find what I have to share helpful, too?
Thank you for your continued support and interest in reading my content!
Peace to all,
Franceska
