Description
‘Once Upon a Time’ by Jonathan Ouisse
Artist: Jonathan Ouisse
Title: ‘Once Upon a Time’
Medium: Acrylic on canvas
Dimensions: 35.5″ x 39.4″
Framing: Unframed
Year of Creation: 2023
About the Artwork:
“There are several possible interpretations of this work. The first obvious one is the climate crisis we are currently experiencing, for which we are largely responsible, and its collateral damage. Whether we’re talking about huge natural disasters impacting all forms of life, or the damaging effects of our lifestyles, the time has come to raise general awareness and adapt rather than contemplate the disaster before our eyes, like cows grazing peacefully in their meadow.
The second interpretation is one of political satire with a spiritual undertone. An observation of an overwhelming global conflict situation, of a clash of cultures from another era where the arms race seems to be the new trend while the house burns down… In the background, this erupting volcano could indeed suggest a huge explosion, while in the foreground, placed in a circle, a council of sacred cows calmly observes.” – Jonathan Ouisse
About the Artist:
(Artist Statement)
In Ouisse’s work, protagonists and animals gravitate in a world where they are mistreated. Often grotesque, exhibiting mockery and derision, it is full of symbols inspired by political matters, the media and childhood without ever becoming a mere cliché. Influenced by the pictorial gesture of the Italian Renaissance, the claroscuro, the style is precise and the lighting is dramatic. Firmly rooted in the nineties his work is influenced by an urban culture and the traits associated with this culture will undoubtedly make an impression on those who see it.
The burlesque, a subversive process which ironizes a dramatic story tinted with misanthropy is often employed by directors such as Emir Kusturica, Federico Fellini and even Monty Python, all of whom have used or still use the Burlesque at its paroxysm. Jonathan created images in the same manner, where the comical becomes the central idea and Jonathan Ouisse develops the process by mishandling the human race, both ridiculing it and laughing at its oversized vanity.