Lyon's full of unnecessarily beautiful doors, think gilding the lily and the adding sprinkles. With cool doors come cool door knockers and this 'hand of Fatima' is a popular choice.  

Why a grenade? Why not? Coincidently, the door knockers usually hold a piece of fruit, 'grenade' is French for pomegranate because early grenades were roughly the same shape. Full circle visual play on worsdery!  

It seems to be a fitting reminder of the tickle of danger that irritates that old bit of our brains, even something as benign as a door knocker can shake us with its explosive presence. 

Acrylic and pencil on a painted page of the Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady. 

Pomegranate à main

Elite worship, voting against your own interests and bizarre unexplainable loyalty to those who regard you as less than less. 'D.M.Y.F' is a loud yell in the chicken coop, 'Why are you all weeping for the death of the fox when you have mountains of your own friends and family to bury?'.

It comes down to a sad (sometimes wonderful) optimism that humans possess, we are definitely going to win the lottery, but can't imagine ever needing to go to hospital. We make sure the throne remains pristine and polished, as one day it will be receiving our privileged behind.

Acrylic, ink and pencil on paper, framed in a vintage octagonal frame.

Don't mourn your fox

A work boot has been lodged in my mind, in light of the recent catastrophic failures of the ruling class and unsurprising realisations such as Donald Trump not paying tax.

However the myth that billionaires are job makers and vital to the economy still persists like a poorly placed boil on the arse of the world. We are fed and gobble greedily the dream that we one day may be fantastically wealthy, causing us to vote for parties that refuse to tax the super rich fairly.

So terrified are they, that we will eventually discover an alternative to what we have now (one where they will be treated like the rest of us that) they have started to ban any literature that presents an alternative to the current form of capitalism in UK schools. This could absurdly include anything from MLK to Jack London.

The boot is for all of those who work hard and play fairly, knowing that when others succeed we all succeed.

Acrylic and pencil on vintage book page.



Swift kick

The bag came first. The inevitable switch back to ‘normality’ has begun and we’re being encouraged to ‘shop, shop, shop!’ Queues outside McDonalds and ikea rival that of Nemesis during summer activities week at school, this is what we’ve missed.

A springboard from greed brought me inevitably to the Devine Comedy. Not all levels of hell are present, but treachery certainly is in the form of the UK government’s monument to how truly little they care about humans without a double barrelled name. Grenfell was a disgusting betrayal, outrageously putting aesthetic above safety. Three years on seven households are still in need of permanent housing, with ten others requesting a move as they have been settled in inappropriate accommodation.

The rest is up to you, have a wander round inferno and follow the breadcrumbs.

The next time you see something shiny on amazon or you’re hungry ten minutes away from home and Ronald flashes by your window, think, ‘do I need this shite?’ They don’t need your money.

Several levels of shite.

A corona inspired project.  I began by stripping down my much loved/abused longboard and transforming it into a rolling piece of art, spurred on by this success I wanted to try it again and did!

I first photographed this sculpture of Moses whilst exploring cimetière de montmarte in Spring 2019.  A full copy of Michelangelo's rendering of Moses, it sat grandly on the tomb of a former banker David Iffla Osiris.  However all was not as it seemed!  Entirely flouting my natural conceptions of bankers, D.I.O was incredibly selfless and his name is mentioned connected countless philanthropic endeavours. 

The skateboard is a meeting of two worlds, the ephemeral in the form of a piece of wood that would be lucky to last a few months when repeatedly ollied, grinded and many other things that I haven't got the bravery or skill to perform.  This meets the seemingly everlasting sculpture of Moses and the lives made possible by the man residing under him.

In conclusion a lesson not just for modern bankers, but anyone who has the means and power to help others.  The world is a terrifying place, but a helping hand at the right time can do so much. 

Moses

Created in frustration after the 2019 UK general election.  

It's broken, each year it gets more rusty and loses more socks.  It gives you electric shocks and floods the kitchen, you nearly lost a finger on its jagged edges and last year it shredded your favourite pair of jeans.  This year will be different won't it?  

Go on, stick in that silk dress and see.

C'est cassé

Continuing a theme of drawn and painted sculpture, this is one half of 'Le Poids de Soi' (The weight of oneself) by Elmgreen and Dragset. The original sculpture is next to the Saône near Lyon's courthouse, so the theme of justice seems hereditary. 

I decided to draw one half of the two figure statue, leaving it in free fall.  This is the same way we should leave companies that shelter their money in tax havens when they come to the tax payer cap in hand for a bailout. One hypocritical example that comes to mind is Richard Branson's Virgin Airways, at the start of the pandemic he was more than happy to leave droves of staff jobless and compensation free. Even in his bailout proposal the wages of staff were unconsidered, it seems he is not only selfish with his own money.

Insidious brands have a stranglehold on our economy, squeezing every drop of blood and sweat from the work force.  The level of in-work poverty in the UK shows how much they get away with, no one working a full time job should struggle to live.  



Support yourself

Painted with the protests in France and Hong Kong as a background, 'A little bit of blood...' is a response to worldwide government mandated police violence towards its civilians. Arguably the best know protesting group in France, the Gilets jaunes manifested as a result of broken promises by President Macron. Several groups have amalgamated including a large number of climate protestors, meaning throughout cities in France protest is almost constant.  In light of the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the increase in weaponised police response to protestors, the painting sadly remains relevant.  

The rather phallic objects that flank the pigeon are a tear gas canister and rubber bullet, responsible for lots of lost eyes, including those of journalists reporting the protests.

A LITTLE BIT OF BLOOD...

'Making shit you can't afford for people you hate.'- Doug Stanhope

Comedy has become a great crutch for me during the bizarre situation we find ourselves in, allaying some anxiety with laughter and fiery determination of subculture.  The line from Doug Stanhope struck a chord with me, especially in a time where we all receive internet deliveries into our hopefully corona-free sanctuaries.  Their are legions of people (whom existed before the crisis) working in substandard, unhealthy conditions for insulting wages for the likes of Amazon, toiling in the exact manner that Stanhope describes.  The drawing brings all of those manipulated by the absurdly rich together as covid-19 reveals further the disgusting face of greed.  It is not the Jeff Bezos' or the Richard Bransons of the world that keep society running, it is the sweat of those who work that oils the engine.

Acrylic and pencil on paper, 23 x 17.5cm, 2020

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Paul Ward