Sunday 5 June 2011

This is about a year and a half old, but I never got round to scanning it. We had a project at uni where I chose the quote "Wrong is Right" and took the opportunity to tackle my favourite theme. The relationship between real and pretend and how you can't tell the difference.

Certain things are authoritative by their very nature and thus convincing in the telling of lies (intentional, or otherwise). Take something like The Onion, for example, which uses the conventions of news reporting to convey realism. It makes you question if "real" news is to be trusted, which it often isn't.

Museums are another one of those authoritative things. We trust what is on display simply because it is on display. I abused the conventions of natural history illustration and museological display here. That is not an American alligator. any ideas what it is?



I was originally going to do a series of these which became increasingly obviously lies, but I never got round to it.

This is nice evidence that I can paint realistically too. It's acrylic on heavyweight paper.

3 comments:

  1. Is it a spliced iguanana/dinosaur/alligator combo?? I think the series sounds a great idea, especially if you can get them into the news as a newly discovered species! People didn't belive the duck-billed platypus at first...

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  2. Saltwater Crocodile? Like those ones they get in Australia. Or an African Croc? I nearly sparked up Google images but felt it wasn't in the spirit of things ;-)
    or are you doing a Magritte "This is not a pipe" trick and saying that it is a PICTURE of an American Alligator and not the real thing?
    Jon

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  3. I think it is a saltwater croc, might be a nile croc. Tbh I can't remember.

    I wasn't going for a Magritte really, but I guess that works too!

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