This project is a series of paintings inspired by Thomas Cole's Course of Empire, which was painted between 1835-1836 and charts the history of an imaginary nation, clearly alluding to the rise and fall of ancient Rome but addressing issues he saw for America and England at that time.
Like Cole, I consider the cyclical nature of history, whether or not we repeat mistakes and where power is held and, like him, I use the river as an allegorical element in the landscape. In these paintings I explore the changing form of London over time and also consider persistent fears about the state of the world, economies, allegiances, technology, war, climate change, control or lack of it.
From left to right:
Augury (after Arcadia), Oil on Canvas, 2019
Cataclysm (after Desolation), Oil on Canvas, 2019
Conflagration (after Destruction), Oil on Canvas, 2019
The City Never Sleeps (after Culmination), Oil on Canvas, 2019
The London Stone (after Savage State), Oil on Canvas, 2019
