Clyde Chong
This series of works draws on current issues, world events and pop culture. In these paintings I explore the intersection of capitalism, consumerism, the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement following the murder of George Floyd. The tearing down of racist monuments in the United States raises the question of what it takes to be remembered. What does one need to be or do to have a statue made in one’s own image?
This series explores the idea that we should remember to help the less fortunate, especially in tough times like these. And that perhaps statues and images should be made to remind us of this rather than someone who is already accomplished and successful.
Technically I aim for a contrast between gestural abstraction and highly controlled figurative painting, as a way of exploring conflicted political territory. Combining the aesthetics of satirical street art, subversive epigrams and dark humour, I depict human subjects embedded in complex urban worlds.
Diogenes 2020, 2020
Oil on canvas
800mm x 600mm x 200mm
