Original artwork description:

A group of voyagers at sea — a giraffe, it’s handler, musicians and other travelers are awaiting arrival to their destination. The large boat is towing a raft, on which stands a small man pretending to be an emperor. He is surrounded by a seated rat being served by feline servants, referencing papyrus roll drawings of the ancient Egyptians who depicted Hittite invasive rulers as rats and themselves as the feline servants of the occupants.

Just like it’s sister painting, “Et cependant voilà,” this piece was first started in 2011 and exhibited the following year in some exhibitions. During the first lockdown of 2020, the same painting stayed pertinent to the artist’s thinking and it was completely reworked; there were of course changes, like surgical masks on the face of a passenger.

The composition is based on the two panels of canvases creating a divide. On the left, the boat powered by Chiron, and on the left, the small emperor and his improbable court on an unstable raft.

Materials used:

Oil on two linen canvases

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