X Marks The Spot

Oil on Canvas
120x100cm

This painting is called X Marks the Spot, and the idea began when I discovered that Deal, on the Kent coast, was once notorious for piracy and smuggling.

That got me thinking about hidden treasure, and the possibility of finding something extraordinary in the most unlikely of places.

So I located this rather battered, weather-beaten caravan on a deserted stretch of coastline and opened it up to reveal its treasure.

Inside hangs John Singer Sargent’s Madame X, the very epitome of femininity and elegance, surrounded by a riot of polka dots in tribute to Yayoi Kusama.

I’ve positioned Madame X as though she’s looking towards the setting sun. There’s something rather romantic about this embodiment of beauty, surrounded by riches, yet gazing beyond them towards the horizon.

The setting sun also introduces the passage of time, the fleeting nature of beauty, and perhaps a longing for something that can’t be possessed.

And so the title brings everything together — the X on a pirate’s treasure map, Sargent’s mysterious Madame X, and Kusama’s unmistakable spots.

A little treasure hidden in plain sight.