Preparation with Green Sky 2010

Editor: This is Ashley Bickerton's "Preparation with Green Sky" from 2010. It's a mixed media piece that uses acrylic paint and... a whole lot of something else. I'm struck by the vibrant colours and almost overwhelming imagery. It's…a lot. What do you make of it? Curator: Look at the way Bickerton throws different materials at this, almost a commentary on late-stage capitalism. This abundance of imagery and colours reflects a consumer culture that values quantity over quality. And, this whole thing is presented as art. Editor: You’re saying that the excess in materials reflects consumption? The central figure holding a pile of fruit as this weird offering makes it more interesting. Is he suggesting this consumption is grotesque? Curator: Exactly. And consider the labor involved. Who are the producers, and who are the consumers in this narrative? What materials were used? Who painted the figures, and are the ‘props’ produced by other means? The 'authenticity' is challenged. Editor: So the artist is making a statement, but what is it actually saying? I see this, like, constructed island paradise, but the longer I look, the stranger and less appealing it gets. The manufactured elements seem so out of place. Curator: Bickerton asks us to question our desires. Do we genuinely crave an 'escape' or are we conditioned by commercial forces? By examining this, he dissolves the line between ‘art’ and mass production, which begs the question: can there really be a differentiation? What's truly authentic in this tropical fantasy, or in any image circulating in today's media landscape? Editor: I never thought about it that way, but it reframes how I see it entirely! I originally viewed it as simply "kitsch" but now I understand its critique of the production of desire, in terms of commodification and class. Thanks for expanding my perspective on it. Curator: My pleasure! It goes to show that paying attention to the materials and process reveals much about our society.