Necklacing

This painting is based on an incident Armitage witnessed as a 12 year old boy: "I remember seeing a man wearing nothing but a tyre around his neck and running very quickly. He was soon followed by a group of men holding a lit torch; it was like a primordial image of man entering a cave." What had seemed a funny sight at the time, Armitage later realised was a vigilante attack. 'Necklacing' is a form of execution or torture where a tyre filled with petrol is forced around a person's body and set alight. The surreal figure with a cartoonish, grinning face reflects the memory of a strange and inexplicable event that has stayed with Armitage to this day.

Courtesy of the artist and White Cube