PERFECT ANGEL

2013,, Oil on Italian Linen, 120 x 100cm

The notion of perfection is a messy business. 

If we are created in God’s image, then by definition - despite all our many variations - we must be perfect. But then, what of Original Sin? Sure, it was a brilliant piece of marketing. In terms of brand loyalty, what better way to engender allegiance than make your customers dependent upon birth? 

But it makes things complicated. If we are already the embodiment of godly perfection, then trying to improve upon this is not just impossible, but blasphemous. However if we are all by default flawed, then the pursuit of perfection is open slather. 

The repercussions can get weird. Which might explain why some people wake up one day, look to their elbows and say to themselves; you know what’s missing? Tattooed cobwebs. 

And what then of Angels? As His messengers in human form, they must surely be the personification of perfection. Or do they need improving too? No wonder when designed this statue Bernini gave the Angel whips. Talk about self-flagellation.