Skeletons Outside Westminster Abbey, London
Skeletons Outside Westminster Abbey, London (Panel 3 of 6 in Parliament Square Panoramic, London)
Painting, Oil on Wood
3’ x 3’ x 1.5” (approx)
This piece is the sole surviving panel from a monumental six-part panoramic titled 'Parliament Square, London'. As a standalone 3’ x 3’ mixed-media drawing, it now stands as the central, enduring statement of the original project.
The ambition of the full panoramic was to 'monotonise' the seat of UK power, transforming it into a dark, brooding, dystopian landscape. This panel, featuring two skeletons walking past Westminster Abbey, formed the heart of that vision.
The skeletons were chosen not simply to underscore a dystopian theme, but for the pure aesthetic joy of using black and white. The skeleton is a beautiful and visually flexible form, allowing me to convey humanity distilled to its essential shape, without the transient details of fashion or identity.
There is also a deliberate, tongue-in-cheek reference to Van Gogh’s ‘Head of a Skeleton with a Burning Cigarette’. I have always been drawn to the profound humour in that painting and the playful absurdity of it. As the only piece to survive the original panoramic, this panel captures that same defiant, playful spirit. It preserves the most potent theme of the entire work—not as a morbid tale, but as an exciting visual pun on life—in a single, powerful image.
Skeletons Outside Westminster Abbey, London (Panel 3 of 6 in Parliament Square Panoramic, London)
Painting, Oil on Wood
3’ x 3’ x 1.5” (approx)
This piece is the sole surviving panel from a monumental six-part panoramic titled 'Parliament Square, London'. As a standalone 3’ x 3’ mixed-media drawing, it now stands as the central, enduring statement of the original project.
The ambition of the full panoramic was to 'monotonise' the seat of UK power, transforming it into a dark, brooding, dystopian landscape. This panel, featuring two skeletons walking past Westminster Abbey, formed the heart of that vision.
The skeletons were chosen not simply to underscore a dystopian theme, but for the pure aesthetic joy of using black and white. The skeleton is a beautiful and visually flexible form, allowing me to convey humanity distilled to its essential shape, without the transient details of fashion or identity.
There is also a deliberate, tongue-in-cheek reference to Van Gogh’s ‘Head of a Skeleton with a Burning Cigarette’. I have always been drawn to the profound humour in that painting and the playful absurdity of it. As the only piece to survive the original panoramic, this panel captures that same defiant, playful spirit. It preserves the most potent theme of the entire work—not as a morbid tale, but as an exciting visual pun on life—in a single, powerful image.
Skeletons Outside Westminster Abbey, London (Panel 3 of 6 in Parliament Square Panoramic, London)
Painting, Oil on Wood
3’ x 3’ x 1.5” (approx)
This piece is the sole surviving panel from a monumental six-part panoramic titled 'Parliament Square, London'. As a standalone 3’ x 3’ mixed-media drawing, it now stands as the central, enduring statement of the original project.
The ambition of the full panoramic was to 'monotonise' the seat of UK power, transforming it into a dark, brooding, dystopian landscape. This panel, featuring two skeletons walking past Westminster Abbey, formed the heart of that vision.
The skeletons were chosen not simply to underscore a dystopian theme, but for the pure aesthetic joy of using black and white. The skeleton is a beautiful and visually flexible form, allowing me to convey humanity distilled to its essential shape, without the transient details of fashion or identity.
There is also a deliberate, tongue-in-cheek reference to Van Gogh’s ‘Head of a Skeleton with a Burning Cigarette’. I have always been drawn to the profound humour in that painting and the playful absurdity of it. As the only piece to survive the original panoramic, this panel captures that same defiant, playful spirit. It preserves the most potent theme of the entire work—not as a morbid tale, but as an exciting visual pun on life—in a single, powerful image.