Cameron Hayes
A Story about someone you know is more interesting than about someone you don’t . By using historical figures in a painting there is already a platform of familiarity to start from.
Historical figures in art function the same way biblical figures in religious culture do, Greek gods in literature do and Totems in indigenous art do, they can be used as surrogates to criticise contemporary behaviour while offering contemporary people the comfort of plausible deniability.
History painting feels like gossip because it has the accessibility of a moral pantomime where no one feels judged and everyone can judge.
