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red art club
While Rome burns
2024
Oil on Aluminium Plates
​£2500
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Eight world leaders* from amongst the highest carbon-emitting nations surround a dying planet. Mark questions how their political self-interest threatens the future security of the world. Is it possible to change this course? Can they/we remove our blindfolds and envision a brighter, more sustainable future? Or is the worn and aged painting showing us it is already too late? Does it signify that they/we are destined to make the same mistakes over and over again? Is this a historical artefact, a lesson from history or a call to ‘rage against the dying of the light’?
*Saudi Arabia - Mohammed bin Salman, Japan - Fumio Kishida, Germany - Olaf Scholz, USA - Joe Biden, Russia - Vladimir Putin, China - Xi Jinping, India - Narendra Modi, South Korea - Yoon Suk Yeol
Drill Baby Drill
2024
Oil on Aluminium Plates
£1200
‘Drill Baby Drill’ was painted before the results of the 2024 election in the United States. During his campaign, the candidate and his supporters frequently yelled the battle cry "drill, baby, drill" to emphasise his belief that climate change is a hoax. Successive administrations in the USA have chosen to ignore climate change, openly deny its existence or pay lip service to it. According to the US Energy Information Administration, the USA is the world's largest producer of oil. Without the active participation of the USA in the fight against climate change, the global situation appears ever more precarious. The phrase "drill, baby, drill" could very quickly lead us back to the slogan from which it was derived: "burn, baby, burn."
Ship of fools
2024
Oil on Canvas
£4800
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Based on Plato’s allegory of the ‘Ship of Fools’ and Hieronymus Bosch’s painting of the same name, this painting shows a dysfunctional crew of politicians and tech billionaires arguing over the limited provisions and who should steer the ship. Meanwhile, the planet burns, our seas become polluted, and people die through conflict, starvation and disease. The painting encourages us to ask why we choose the politicians we do? Is it because they are the right people to address the issues of the day, or is it because they say the things we want to hear? How do we address the bigger issues if our primary focus is almost always on relieving our short-term discomfort?
A poem to accompany the piece
Ship Of Fools
Amidst the stillness of the sea,
A ship of fools sails silently,
Its sails once proud, now hang forlorn, In waters tainted, sad and worn.
Politicians, captains blind,
Navigate with hearts unkind,
Their faces etched with pride and greed, As nature suffers, they take no heed.
Oil spills mar the ocean’s grace, Plastics drift, a toxic embrace,
The ship, adrift in a sea of despair, Carries leaders who fail to care.
In this tableau of folly’s embrace, Humanity’s hubris we cannot erase, A warning painted in colours bold, Of futures bleak, and stories untold.
Oh, ship of fools, lost at sea,
Your journey ends in tragedy,
May this painting serve as a call, To change our ways before we fall.
MARK SHEPHERD
Mark Shepherd has made art his whole life and it is as essential to him as breathing, eating and sleeping, not just an activity to pass the time, but a way of processing the world and expressing himself, as natural and as vital as a heartbeat. Having trained as an Architect and worked as an Architectural Illustrator, Muralist and Visualiser, Mark is now, at the youthful age of 63, pursuing his lifelong ambition of being a professional Artist.
Mark chooses his subjects based on his observations and experiences of the world. His paintings encourage the viewer to ask their own questions rather than offering definitive answers. Mark often highlights the tensions and challenges in political and religious issues. He references the Old Masters not only in style and technique but also in their engagement with universal themes such as faith, morality and power.
Recently, viewing Botticelli’s ‘Venus and Mars,’ Mark was amazed by the painting’s freshness despite it being over 500 years old. This is one of the main reasons Mark chooses to paint in oils, as it is a medium that provides a richness and permanence that connects him to the long tradition of art while allowing him to reflect on contemporary issues.
Follow Mark on instagram -
@mark_shepherd_art
To purchase these artworks please email mshepherd.uk@hotmail.com
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