Peace Coma

This painting evolved from Armitage's concern with how 'the Western press represents and dumbs down African politics.' After the violance of the 2008/9 Kenyan elections the international press used the term 'Peace Coma' to describe the way in which local press and politicians seemed to be ignorning certain issues in order to preserve the peace. Armitage wanted to create a comical image of snakes - exotic creatures and a symbol of evil in different cultures - as a way to highlight this oversimplification of a complex situation. Peace Coma is also a key work in the development of Armitage's approach to painting on Lubugo bark cloth. Thinking about the bark cloth's own relationship with the natural landscape Armitage began to work in thin layers, constantly sanding back the paint to reveal the cloth's natural texture: "I had to rethink my technique so that I could manipulate the tension created by the resistance of the surface to the painted mark."

Courtesy of the artist and White Cube