7 sins

I've created some new works for the 7 sins contest. The concept of 7 deadly sins seems rather archaic to me so I was keen to interpret them in a way that was contemporarily relevant.

I decided to create a series of landscapes which represented the sins Wrath, Greed and Gluttony. 

I interpreted gluttony as excessive consumption to the point of waste and depicted  a mound of e-waste to represent this concept. Much of the western world's obsolete electronic devices are exported to developing countries for recycling where labour is cheaper. But because of lax regulations in the procedures for this recycling, the process is often extremely polluting and hazardous.

I've got a sort of a fascination with cranes and they're a recurring image in my work. I suppose this may stem from spending so many years living in Dublin during the days of the Celtic tiger economy. They were a regular fixture in the city, appearing like mechanical dinosaurs in the landscape. I've always had mixed feelings about cranes. In one way, the sight of them is comforting - a symbol of prosperity, yet in another way they have an almost spectral presence. The 'renewal' process so often results in the destruction of interesting old parts of the city and their replacement by yet another indentikit block of 'luxury' apartments. Much of this sort of  development is short-sighted and entirely motivated by greed. Many of these dwellings now lie abandoned and uninhabited since the recession hit.

I wanted to express wrath in terms of frustration, a sort of simmering rage. When people feel disenfranchised they get angry and if this anger has no constructive outlet it will find a destructive one.

I had some ideas for the other remaining 4 sins - Sloth, Pride, Lust and Envy so will perhaps continue to develop this project.