Steppenwolf (2017) Original Oil Painting by James Henry Johnston

“I am in truth the Steppenwolf that I often call myself; that beast astray that finds neither home nor joy nor nourishment in a world that is strange and incomprehensible to him.”
― Hermann Hesse, Steppenwolf


This is the latest painting in a series of paintings I have embarked on, called "Sinister Selfies"; a project of paintings which distorts the idea of selfies. Instead of being snapshots of rampant narcissism in various sunny or celebratory locations, they instead invite and allow the viewer into a world which implies darker human realities such as addiction, co-dependency, trauma, terror, abuse, disgust, self loathing, mental health issues, disintegration of self, psychosis, dissociation and discrimination, redundancy, bullying, fascism and the effects of neoliberalism on our lives.

All areas of human experience close to my heart, so to speak.
Instead of snapshots of mindless self idolatry these sinister selfies give us a peak into other's lives and their discordant emotions and psychology and also into our shared communally lives generally and more presciently.

They reveal the aspects of self and humanity we would rather hide away, the sometimes unpalatable, even disturbing reality behind the facade we maintain in public.
Essentially I use a icon of our time, the Smartphone selfie, to turn a our gaze onto so-called darker elements of the human condition, mainly using heightened vibrant colour, distorted imagery and odd sized canvas.

Materials used:

oil on linen canvas

Details:

• Oil painting on Canvas
• One of a kind artwork
• Size: 24 x 30 x 2cm (unframed)
• Ready to hang
• Signed on the front
• Style: Urban and Pop
• Subject: People and portraits