20-Layer Screenprint
Dimensions: 96 x 134 cm
Limited Edition of 100, signed and numbered by the artist
Price: €2,400
"I visited the Petit Palais earlier this year to view the Delaroche and Shnetz paintings that I would be sharing a room with. Both of these paintings depict pivotal moments in French history where the people rise up against an oppressive and antiquated monarchy. I've always been interested in hierarchical structures and the inevitable downfall that follows so I was very struck by the contrast between the old faces portrayed in the museum and the faces of everyday Parisians I saw on the street and on the metro. It got me thinking about who we have traditionally held on pedestals and who we celebrate today, what do these old faces mean to Parisians and who from today's society would be hanging in a museum if the general public were to have a say?
My painting depicts a fading King motionless on his throne with a melting cake behind him, a reference to the infamous phrase 'Let them eat cake' from Rousseau's Confessions highlighting the lack of compassion the monarchy feels towards the poor. I've also taken motifs from both Delaroche and Shnetz's paintings, like the dog and the drum. Red and blue bunting hangs through the scene in reference to the French tricolour but also as an illustration of how the party (reign) is over. The king looks old, tired and redundant while on the table beside him sits a brightly coloured television showing a huge moment in contemporary French culture, the World Cup win in 2018. Perhaps to the public, the gold of the trophy is more important and valuable than the regalia of the monarchy. Loudspeakers are also strewn through out the scene as a reference to both the media control and propaganda of contemporary governments and organisations as well as a tool for communication by protestors during mass demonstrations.
The title Down With The King has two meanings, the first as an anarchic chant to abolish the monarchy, the second taken from the more supportive sentiment of the Run DMC song Down With The King."
Conor Harrington
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