PURE HEDONISM

2009, Oil on Linen, 152 x 152cm

Thanks to the Industrial Revolution we enjoy lifestyles, life-spans and freedoms previously available only to royalty and despots.

Yet amongst the improvements have come some extraordinary acts of indulgence. Perhaps best typifying such excesses is the family spa, heated during winter and used rarely; for most, more a trophy than an appliance.

And there will be a price to be paid. This mad scramble towards industrialisation is powered by the chimneys and dark satanic mills now carpeting the developing world.

Like bacteria in a Petri dish which multiply until it is overwhelmed by its own waste, will we all end up swimming in our own filth? And what of the future generations facing the consequences of this prosperity enjoyed by a privileged minority, fortunate enough to be born in the West during this brief Age of Indulgence?