The Fake Prophet
Triptych, 163 x 145 cm
oil on canvas on hardboard
I painted the outside monochrome because I want to point out that if we continue in the way we are now living the whole world is going to become worse, although ironically it did improve briefly during the COVID lockdown. The outside is grey, the world has been cast aside as though we don't care. The sky, which took me four attempts to make smooth, is ruined by the jet stream of an aircraft, but the view of the inside is in full colour because that is our personal space which, due to our short sightedness, is all we can see.
At the end of the World War II, America became the global economical power which led to a consumer society and gave rise to the birth of Pop Art which reflected the influence of commercialization. To illustrate this commercialization, on the wallpaper behind the open windows I have used the dollar symbol and Mickey Mouse standing on the shell which Botticelli used to announce the Birth of Venus because Mickey (born in 1928) has become a God in the commercial world. There is a portrait of Minnie Mouse in the style of the Marilyn Monroe prints by Andy Warhol the inventor of artilization (commercialization). The bright red wallpaper is covered with the Golden Arches (painted in gold), the logo of McDonalds. In the middle of the room is a sculpture by Jeff Koons representing a dog in the shape of a blown up balloon. Koons is the king of commercialization because these limited editions sculptures are sold for ridiculous amounts. In the background is a TV showing Donald Trump with a caption saying FAKE. The closed windows are in black and white and suffering from neglect.
The purpose of all this is to make the statement that we, the ignorant, are more concerned with trivia; the triviality of celebrity, and decorate our nests with colourful confetti while we blandly ignore the world outside which is rapidly being destroyed by wild fires and melting ice sheets. The climate is changing and Donald Trump, The Fake Prophet, bedecked with fool’s gold of self-importance believes he knows more than the scientists, arrogantly declares that what they said was all FAKE.
