Artwork

Throw your toys out of the pram

2017 Competition entry

Detail
Tags

Gerrit Hattingh

Details:

Charcoal on Fabriano
160 cm x 120 cm
Description:
The artwork transforms the beloved objects of childhood comfort into a warped composite that comments on uncultured social values. Young people tend to learn and adopt negative and uncultured social values and then begin to forge their own principles based on the same toxic social, philosophical and ideological backgrounds. The result of this creates a mistake where an individual begins to think that right is wrong and that wrong is right; or good is bad and bad is good. The byproduct of such ignorance is moral degeneration and character deterioration (heraldlive.co.za).

The work suggests a sense of nostalgia for the paraphernalia of childhood, but at the same time mysteriously questions what is real and what is fake. The artist explores his own insecurities and fears concerning what the future holds for his daughter and comments through subtle details on a lack of current social values. The toys, in a fight to get to the top, act out the metaphor of, for example, a lack of leadership, corruption/greed, anger, backstabbing, discrimination and poaching. The work is done in charcoal on paper as it best illustrates a dreamlike approach to black and white (right and wrong) issues.

Charcoal

Like a duck out of water - water off a duck's back - who gives a duck

Detail
Tags

Gerrit Hattingh

Details:

Charcoal on Fabriano
160 cm x 120 cm

Description:
The artwork transforms the beloved objects of childhood comfort into a warped composite that comments on uncultured social values. Young people tend to learn and adopt negative and uncultured social values and then begin to forge their own principles based on the same toxic social, philosophical and ideological backgrounds. The result of this creates a mistake where an individual begins to think that right is wrong and that wrong is right; or good is bad and bad is good. The byproduct of such ignorance is moral degeneration and character deterioration (heraldlive.co.za).

The work suggests a sense of nostalgia for the paraphernalia of childhood, but at the same time mysteriously questions what is real and what is fake. The artist explores his own insecurities and fears concerning what the future holds for his daughter and comments through subtle details on a lack of current social values. The toys, in a fight to get to the top, act out the metaphor of, for example, a lack of leadership, corruption/greed, anger, backstabbing, discrimination and poaching. The work is done in charcoal on paper as it best illustrates a dreamlike approach to black and white (right and wrong) issues.

Charcoal