From Guernica to Gaza. From Tate Britain to the British Parliament.
From ‘Guernica to Gaza’ was, and still is, a performative question as to the relevance of a dis-affirmative, critical practise with regards to ‘History Painting’ and an indictment delivered to the contemporary Art market place, museums, galleries, curators as well as ‘blue chip’ millionaire artists and their refusal to engage in contentious contemporary issues. Highlighting the cozy link between contemporary Art and the political and financial establishment .
The Performative Walk
From Guernica to Gaza began as a performative walk from Tate Britain to the Palace of Westminster. The walk asked whether a critical artistic practice could still intervene in public space and political history, carrying the project from Britain’s national collection of art to the symbolic centre of British political power. The walk formed part of the work itself, rather than simply documenting it.
The Two Paintings
From Guernica to Gaza (1)
Once Upon a Time in a Painting: Having left the ‘House of the Deaf Man’ over 200 years ago, Goya’s creatures now find themselves at home in the Royal Gallery, Palace of Westminster, Houses of Parliament. London.
1993 – 2024 Oil and Ideas on Canvas 11ft x 9ft
From Guernica to Gaza (2)
Once Upon a Time in a Painting: Arriving into the present from Palestine 1917 (via the medium of Art) Sergeants Sedgwick and Hurcomb, of the British Egypt Expeditionary Forces, are astonished to see the outcome of their accidental meeting with the Mayor of Jerusalem. The Lockheed Martin F-35i adir, supplied by the USA, supported and maintained by the British and European Union, taking lessons from the Junker JU-87 Stuka dive bomber, in the correct manner of civilian extermination. The ghosts of Guernica rise from their graves issuing indictments to the cowardly millionaire artists of today….. Goya’s Dog and the spectre of Lorenzetti’s Bad Governance look on from the walls of The Royal Gallery, in the Palace of Westminster, Houses of Parliament. The Artist of this ‘History Work’ makes eye contact with the sergeants and shares their impotent empathy.
1993 – 2025 Oil and Ideas on Canvas 11ft x 9ft
The two large-scale ‘History Paintings’ form the centre of the project. Installed together, they bring Picasso’s Guernica into dialogue with the contemporary destruction of Gaza through a dense network of historical quotations, political references and painterly interventions. Rather than illustrating events, the paintings ask how history continues to repeat itself and what role painting can still play in recording and questioning that history.
Details of From Guernica to Gaza (1)
details of From Guernica to Gaza (2)
From Guernica to Gaza began as a performative walk from Tate Britain to the Palace of Westminster. The walk asked whether a critical artistic practice could still intervene in public space and political history, carrying the project from Britain’s national collection of art to the symbolic centre of British political power. The walk formed part of the work itself, rather than simply documenting it.
Film Documentation
The project extends beyond painting into moving image. Film documentation records the performative walk, the making of the work and the installation process, providing another way of understanding the relationship between action, research and the finished works. Rather than functioning as supplementary documentation, the films form an integral part of the project.
Exhibition and Archive
This archive will continue to grow as the project develops. It will include installation photographs, research notes, drawings, correspondence, publications, lectures, press coverage and other material documenting the evolution and reception of From Guernica to Gaza. The archive treats the project as an ongoing body of work rather than a completed event.
