This picture commenced as a straightforward reaction to the advent of the Johnson government in the UK, but while it was being made, the COVID pandemic commenced, so there are many references to COVID in the picture – the virus itself, the nutty theories etc.
The worm in this picture is the mythical Mongolian death worm, which is the likely origin of the sand worm Sarlacc in Star Wars – Return of the Jedi don’t you think?. In this picture the worm takes on the persona of UK right-wing provocateur Nigel Farage – a man whom I believe to have done more harm to British society than the Luftwaffe did.
Boris Johnson and his cronies are depicted as Morris dancers. Morris dancing is seen as both ancient and English, but is probably of European origin, with the modern form formalized in Victorian times; making the point that much that is adopted by the nostalgic fantasists of the right as inherently British is actually not what it seems. Another case of ‘nostalgesia’.
The Vexed History of Morris
Pen and ink, on Watercolour paper 2019-2020
This picture commenced as a straightforward reaction to the advent of the Johnson government in the UK, but while it was being made, the COVID pandemic commenced, so there are many references to COVID in the picture – the virus itself, the nutty theories etc. The worm in this picture is the mythical Mongolian death worm, which is the likely origin of the sand worm Sarlacc in Star Wars – Return of the Jedi don’t you think?. In this picture the worm takes on the persona of UK right-wing provocateur Nigel Farage – a man whom I believe to have done more harm to British society than the Luftwaffe did. Boris Johnson and his cronies are depicted as Morris dancers. Morris dancing is seen as both ancient and English, but is probably of European origin, with the modern form formalized in Victorian times; making the point that much that is adopted by the nostalgic fantasists of the right as inherently British is actually not what it seems. Another case of ‘nostalgesia’.Artwork Details
A closer look at The Vexed History of Morris