Sekelah Byfield's inspired choice from Tate Modern - Gaddafi 3

Gaddafi 3  

Gaddafi 3 is an oil painting by painter, photography and filmmaker Wilhelm Sasnal who was born in 1972 from Tarnow Poland. This painting is apart of a three-piece Sasnal collection created after the death of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. 

Colonel Gaddafi was the political leader of Libya who had been killed by Libyan rebel fighter whilst trying to flee from his hometown after being under attack. The people of Libya didn't agree with Gaddafi's political views and it had become a worldwide catastrophe as the US and France military offered their help against Gaddafi according to ABC news. 

A few days after this attack Sasnal decided to create three paintings depicting the event. However his representation is quite different to the actual scene.  He uses pastel colours with black and grey tones to illustrate the mood of the picture. I feel that the pink and purple and peach background gives a cold but yet peaceful feel. Where as the silhouette like figures suggested darkness and disappear. 

 Wilhelm Sasnal’s painting reflects another painting that he felt reminds him of what the media has portrayed this attack to look like. “The media image disseminated everywhere reminded him of an art historical icon: Of course I had to think of Mantegna’s The Dead Christ." Sasnal at the opening of his exhibition based at Haus der Kuns. Mantegna’s The Dead christ is a paint from the renaissance time of Christ on a marble slab being watched over by Mary and one of his disciples.

Sasnal has cleverly combined the imagery from a political event, and a historical painting along with his minimalistic style to create a contemporary piece.

The reason why this piece stood out to me at the Tate modern gallery was because of the size and colour. Gaddafi 3 was the largest paint out of the set. Measuring at 1600 x 2000 mm. Compared to the small paintings placed beside it this painting was the first object my eye caught as I entered the room. Secondly I liked how Sasnal used the dark grey and black tones to represent the people who are standing around the dead body in the centre of the painting. To me it represents that they have no remorse, somewhat heartless for standing and watching. He’s carefully made it so you can’t see their faces which makes them seem less humane. The very relaxed figures are standing around the dead corpse but not facing the body which links to them not having any emotion or social awareness for what is happening around them.

 I believe Sasnal felt that in todays world we as a human race have become desensitised. This is showed in the video clips and imagery of the attack where the rebels are celebrating Gaddafi’s death and we (the media) sit back and watch. As I stood and looked at the painting I almost felt like I was being associated with those dark figures as I too was was staring at the dead body without much remorse to who it was. Despite that Gaddafi was a bad person he too was a human who had lost their life. 

References

Dbartmag.de. (2017). Deutsche Bank - ArtMag - 69 - feature - Gate to the Present - Wilhelm Sasnal in the Haus der Kunst in Munich. [online] Available at: http://dbartmag.de/en/69/feature/gate-to-the-present-wilhelm-sasnal-in-the-haus-der-kunst-in-muni/ [Accessed 24 Sep. 2017].

Tate. (2017). ‘Gaddafi 3’, Wilhelm Sasnal, 2011 | Tate. [online] Available at: http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/sasnal-gaddafi-3-t14242 [Accessed 24 Sep. 2017].

Kofman, J. and Dolak, K. (2017). How Rebels Killed Moammar Gadhafi. [online] ABC News. Available at: http://abcnews.go.com/International/moammar-gadhafi-dead-rebels-killed-dictator/story?id=14784776 [Accessed 24 Sep. 2017].