Condemned - A portrait with scars.

It's been too much... Too much and I'm falling on my knees in vain. I'll wait to gain enough strength to get up once more and keep going only to know that I will fall soon again...

But why? Was I really this bad to be treated by you in this way?

The scars are burning under today's sun  but none of its light comes through the thick black shadow you've painted me with on the inside. And yet there's plenty of sun still zipped within me. But none of this light comes through and none of it comes out. It's burning me from inside. I am being burned... neither dead nor alive, burned with questions which stir up this flame: What have I done to you?!  What have you done to me and why?! How do you take it from somebody? How do you take it and why?

I once used to be happy...

Please.. give me back what you have taken so happily with yet another lie.

Please... give it back. I miss it so much... my smile.  

Condemned - A portrait with scars.
Acrylics on canvas
60"x48"
2010

Death in the digital era

On the January 23, 2010 the body of the Chinese worker has been found laying on the ground. he worked 286 hours in the month before he died, including 112 hours of overtime. The factories in Shenzhen, with about 400,000 employees, make products for global companies like Apple, Dell and Hewlett-Packard. For all of that, even with extra pay for overtime, he earned the equivalent of $1 an hour.

His name was Ma Xiangqian.

When I looked at his factory ID card for the first time it struck me how emotionless he seemed.

He's stripy shirt reminded me of two things:

The first one was the camps during II WW where people worked themselves to death. Perhaps because the most famous of these labour camps where in the country I am from and every time I see the picture of it I feel inside the terrible sadness.

The second thing was the product bar code. He's Foxconn ID number was F9310372. The same number that can be scanned and decoded with your very iPhone using a free code-39 scanner application.

Please try to remember his story when the next time you rush to the store to cherish yet another of these "wonderful, must have" products - it is just an object. After all it is because of our consumer society - me and you - someone paid the ultimate price.

Death in the digital era

Acrylics on canvas 

60" x 48"

2010 

Craddle Macabre

Craddle Macabre

-Craddle: cold, consistent, senseless...

-Rabbit: cute, lovely, cuddly, sweet... 

Somewhere along the way we've lost some good values in life. The values of being good hearted. So many things instead of being simple are becoming surreal - just like this painting. I've tried to capture the feeling I get from some people - because looks and feelings can be deceptive. I am fully aware of the sickness of this painting.. this is the whole point of it. It makes me feel sick. It should make you feel sick. If it does not... you are strange.  

2010 acrylics on canvas 145 x 120

Shadow on the window sill or grass field?

Boat on the shore or shadow on the desk?

Love for sale?

The Exploding Donkey?

Is this the spilled drink or the exploding donkey?

The other day I was walking down the street when suddenly an exploding donkey appeared in front of me. I stared at it for a long time. The next day I came back with the camera to take the picture of it. It was pure luck.

I've realized then how the art is surrounding us. It's just the matter of us been able to see it. Pablo Picasso had a question asked once: 

- What is art?

He took his time to think about this and then pointed to the bicycle saddle attached to a handlebars hanging from the wall - the whole thing look like a bull... 

- This is art! - he replied.

And this is the whole point. What is not the FUCKING art? 

FUNNY thing.. art.

In Polish "FART" means luck. I've found this donkey by luck.

In English it has a different meaning - art can be crap as well.

I love these word games!

So there you go: F-ART