21st century royalty
An on-going series in the POST-MODERN body of work
Artist Statement
Who are the queens and kings of the modern era? Who do we revere, who do we admire, and who do we long to become in the 21st century? 21st century royalty considers the conventions and stylings of royal portraiture and reimagines them into the modern context. Just as the monarchial images of ages past would strike fear and reverence into the hearts of those who looked upon them, so too do these works seek to strike admiration and revelation into the hearts of viewers. While the notion of living subject to a higher authority seems antiquated by the standards of our age, this series begs to differ–that perhaps the idols have not dissipated due to modern-day enlightenment, but instead have simply changed their robes. One may assume that democracy has established freedom for all peoples, but the developments and transformations of our POST-MODERN existence have simply given us new figureheads to worship in our everyday lives. 21st century royalty depicts the newfound archetypes towards which we gravitate, those icons wielding the power in this modern age, and what befalls those who carry the heaviness of the 21st century regalia.
