Daphne Arthur
Arvene, NY / USA
Daphne Arthur
Popotov War / A Weary Man’s Utopia
oil on canvas, 2017 / 2019
Popotov War
2017
Oil on canvas 36”x36”x2”
Moral feuds in places where unrest and revolutionary acts meet in response to oppression take on visual signifiers that sometimes blur the line between good and evil. This piece explores the riots in Venezuela against a political regime and considers the symbolism of the masked figure as hero and villain.
While inspired by the riots in Venezuela, the “Encapuchados” examines tensions created with masked figures, and the demonization of young people- stereotyping them as thugs- emblematic of society’s problems. Is he a threat? is he a savior? are some complicated dialectics considered within these vicissitudes and associations in a historical and contemporary context.
A Weary Man’s Utopia
2019
Oil paint and rope on canvas
72.5”x 52.5”
Amidst the mouth of the earth, created 13.8 million years ago, leads to the underworld, the mystical enchantment to immortality was this foreigners' amphitheater to the scared transformations from the past. In between the living and the dead he holds the knowledge in his hand, releasing it in the water as his anchor, for the future One to demand.
