This is the second of two mixed media artworks I’ve designed to commemorate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. The picture shows the design of the Union Flag overlaid with headlines from the Daily Telegraph published on May 29th and 30th 2012. The picture reflects what was going on in the news in the immediate run up to the Jubilee weekend.
The newspapers were left behind by my father in law after a visit to our house and as I went to throw them away, one of the headlines caught my eye and the picture developed from there. On the reverse of the picture are more headlines and I photographed a further batch which didn’t make the cut (shown below).
The design of the flag is based on the Union Flag, it is twice as wide as it is tall (38cm x 19cm) and all the other lines and angles are in proportion to the original flag. In the picture, the flag is depicted upside down, which indicates a distress signal. It’s clear when you read the headlines that despite all the hype around the Diamond Jubilee, life goes on and our capacity for committing crime and general unpleasantness is the over riding focus for the print media.
The picture was composed using water colour paint (Paynes Grey pan), newspaper cuttings and glue on mould made, acid free 300gsm water colour paper.
