Remi S GCSE Exam Portfolio Presentation EVENT
Statement of Intent In this painting, I wanted to create a certain tension and foreboding domestic atmosphere, through vivid, dark tones and dramatic lighting, similar to Freud’s paintings. In this I was considering the way news and major political events that may not be directly connected to us infiltrate our daily lives. My father, the subject of the painting, is the kind of man who is addicted to and very influenced by the news. Painting him against the backdrop of our dining room sitting for dinner, I substituted food for arguably the most significant moment in recent American history: 9/11, with a childlike model of a plane aimed at the Twin towers, constructed in the way my father taught me when I was much younger. His disturbed expression, clenched fists and piercing glare directed towards the viewer all contribute towards the sense of something being “off” that I’m aiming towards. It’s also an ancient expression, one echoed all the way back to the statues of the greeks; an eternal declaration of suffering. I’d like to encourage the viewer to consider what they consume through media, and how connected we all are by huge events such as this one, when everyone watched the towers falling: together.