Lemon Sherbet

“TULIPMANIA”

I have always loved the strong contrast in the Dutch masterpieces; the way they demand your attention, enticing you to examine them more closely, and revealing their extreme skill and play. 

This series was heavily influenced by the Dutch Masters’ tulip paintings. However, I wanted to firmly plant my paintings in today’s world and so I used an effect reminiscent of our phone screens and platforms like Instagram to introduce a very modern change of scale. I painted a thin, zoomed image of the tulip underneath the fully realised version of the same tulip. The outcome is one of fracture, in conversation with my 2022 exhibition (“Somewhat Strange“). 

The title “TULIPMANIA” harks back to the Dutch Masters’ obsession with tulips, and the fracture from reality in which the tulip bulb price bubble of the 1630s ultimately ended in a dramatic collapse. I wanted my modern twist to also reflect the many repeated equivalents of Tulipmania in our contemporary world. And yet all of this is set against my focus on the physical presence and natural beauty of this wonderful flower.