Grinning The Beast
oil and acrylic on canvas

There are several things going on here, as you can probably guess. The majority of my work has meaning and often symbology.

The center figure we will say is us, you and me, people in general. We are being held captive. Notice the shadows from the bars. Notice the straight jacket. In the detail image you see people waiting in line to be murdered. If you look at the center figures' mouth you can see within the negative space of the face a hand that is pulling the mouth open. Forcing us to smile, to enjoy.

The breakdown is this; Corporations and the media are killing us, and we're lining up for it. We're constricted and trapped and being forced to watch and buy bullshit products and news and being forced to like it. Meanwhile, subconsciously, we know this is not good and we're trying to release this evil and break free (represented by the strange things coming out of the head and the mysterious "growth" that looks like a tree root). All of this conflict is tearing us apart and driving us mad (represented by the straight jacket being destroyed and pieces flying off while we urinate ourselves).

Have a nice day. Shop at Wal-Mart.