Surging Tides Of Consequences

Clare Attwell

55.5 x 39.5 inches

2018

ARTIST STATEMENT

When Milton Friedman used Leonard Read’s essay“I, Pencil” to illustrate the wonders of ‘the invisible hand of the market’ in a lecture on free market economics, it captured the imagination of the Western world. The yellow pencil became a symbol of this ‘miracle’. One thing Friedman’s economics didn’t capture was everything that didn’t fit neatly onto a spreadsheet – thus, if it wasn’t captured on the spreadsheet, it wasn’t given value in the new economics. The social and environmental consequences of this approach are now everywhere, from climate chaos to mass human migration and species extinctions. Like the emotional impact of Hokusai’s wood cut print, The Great Wave Off Kanagawa, there is a growing sense that life on earth is on an ominous precipice, driven headlong into the violent storm by an economic system incapable of valuing what really matters.

MATERIALS

Acrylic inks and paints, wheat paste, polyester sheers, photo print on cotton, cotton fabric, polyester batting, thread

GUIDE BY CELL NUMBER

To hear the artist speak about the artwork, call (703) 520-6404 and enter 2172 followed by the # sign.