«No Future»

In 1977, the year of the Queen's Silver Jubilee, the Sex Pistols released God Save the Queen. The BBC refused to play it, and the chorus screamed that there was no future. To me that line still works as a motto for dystopian art.

That chorus is the starting point of this painting. I wanted to see what "no future" looks like once the future has actually shown up.

A small boy in a waistcoat and a red tie stands in the middle of a neon city, all hot pink, violet and electric blue. One of his arms is metal. A strip of his face has slid sideways like a frozen video call, and a black bar sits over one eye. Beside him a yellow robot dog walks across a wet, shiny floor, and both of them are reflected in it. On the black wall to the left the words NO and FUTU are cut off at the edge, and a blue fireball falls through the corner. Raised lines of paint run across the surface like cables.

The wet neon streets remind me of Blade Runner, from 1982. The red, yellow and mint bars on the left are my nod to Mondrian and his Composition with Red, Blue and Yellow from 1930, only here the strict grid has been knocked loose. Warhol's Death and Disaster pictures from 1962 and 1963 are in there too, glossy colour wrapped around something unsettling. I like that dystopian art can look this pretty and still worry you.

This is a statement wall art piece for anyone who prefers a canvas with an argument in it. It is an original pop art painting, 120x90 cm, oil and acrylic on canvases, from my fourth collection, also called No Future.

Most of my original paintings are already in private collections, but I paint originals to order in any size. To ask about this one, message me on Instagram or by email.

A hand-finished lithograph of this work exists too, and you can order it through Instagram or email.