INDEBT
[A selection of these prints were exhibited alongside paintings in my exhibition, No Relief, Oct 2018]
Debt exists in society as a very strong motivating force, but it also hides in plain sight. In this way, we can say that debt exists in society as a corollary of religion. The churches and creeds of religions embody their existence among us, but the real achievement can be witnessed in the extension of worship beyond the church into - potentially - every facet of a person’s life.
Similarly, debt has its own spaces of veneration and documentation. Banks and annual reports are the public face of finance - the substructure of debt. The resonance between these social forces is not happenstance. Debt can mirror religion because it relies on the same principle of personal responsibility.
The paintings and prints on view at the gallery use the traditional forms of heraldry and symbolism to present scenes from a reality entirely subjugated to debt.
