Et Tu ManKind depicts a female as the Christ figure in a crucifixion which calls out the suffering of the planet, as well as insisting that #metoo simply does not go far enough.

“The greatest influence of my painting practice goes right back to my childhood in Glasgow. Like many Glasgow children in the 60s and 70s, Kelvingrove Museum and gardens became a playground. But more than that: it was seeing the image of Christ of St John of the Cross by Salvador Dali, that planted the seed for a love of art, and, with its dynamic perspective and monumental scale, awakened the soul of this deaf kid from Drumchapel. When I first picked up a piece of charcoal as an adult and started to draw, it was a version of Dali’s Christ of St John that I created. I have now created 6 paintings which directly or indirectly reference Dali’s work, and the figure of the crucifixion. I do not love religion, but I have a very significant love for the icon, or the ‘art’ depicting Jesus on the cross, whether it is painting, sculpture, jewellery, or religious items. I am blown away by the beauty of this thing, the dichotomy of this beauty existing in an image- which is in fact a brutal public murder.

It begged so many questions for me as a child, which cannot be understood without an understanding of protestant/catholic sectarianism I grew up with in Glasgow. My work which uses and repeats this image of the cross is steeped in a child’s rebellious reaction to sectarianism; the wake-up call of being so deeply affected by an image, that I’m not meant to look at, an image that belongs to Catholics, whom, according to my culture, I’m not meant to befriend.”

With Et Tu Mankind the artist subverts and expands traditional symbolism, in a feminist apologia that highlights women’s suffering and the pain of the female body. There is reference to menstruation, or perhaps miscarriage, but also the sense of being crucified that might apply to a rape victim who is blamed, through the system, or by her own family and culture.

At 200 x 100 cm (79 x 39 inches) Et Tu ManKind is a huge statement canvas, painted in Artist’s acrylics and varnished.

The original painting is available for sale directly through this website, or you may contact the artist if you wish to make an offer.