This painting is from my Portents series, an ensemble of allegorical works intended to be visions of our imminent future. This painting depicts a towering structure where the world’s powerful elite reside. This 1% of society live in luxury, high in the sky, lording over everyone else crowded below. Of course, this is already happening today. Just look at the many luxury buildings in all the major cities around the world. I suppose it is ironic that my painting now hangs in a penthouse loft of such a place. But artists need to eat too, so I appreciate the patronage.
This work addresses the dominant belief system in today’s society that humanity will prosper only through continuous economic growth. We need a change in mindset — a circuit breaker.
The many different nuts and washers affixed to the circuit board suggest that each of us, in our own way, can interrupt this non-stop cycle of production and consumption. We are capable of developing ways of living that are more thoughtful and creative, and less resource-intensive, to avoid climate catastrophe.