Pleasure is pain (2019) – 80 cm x 80 cm – Collage and mixed media on canvas
This collage piece came about after meditation on the notion that pleasure equals pain.
The jelly beans hands, the nude women silhouettes represent the constant grasping of pleasure in the modern age, around porn, junk food, sweets and other vices.
There are various symbols pointing to ‘Memento Mori’ or ‘remember your mortality’, the skull and the hourglass representing death and the sands of time. You’ll notice phrases such as “Fuck Francis Bacon” and “Fuck Art” this was to express my frustration at not being where I want to be in my art career, which proves the point of the piece, that chasing the pleasure of being further along in my art career is causing me pain, rather than enjoying the stage I am at.
I want to add that I admire the artists that I cursed at on the piece, it was out of frustration that they had something I didn’t. All artists have their own unique journey.