First Class Carry On by Nathan James

First Class Carry On is a 1/1 NFT minted from my physical oil painting created in 2013 for my solo exhibition Punchlines at KK Outlet in London, UK.

Punchlines, is based on the idea of subverting aspirational images and using them to take a grimly comic, darkly humorous look at contemporary life. James takes images of Americana, advertising, pin-ups, Hollywood and traditional beauty and injects them with his own feelings towards the characters and the scenes they inhabit.

The original intent of the source material is undercut by darker elements which at first seem superficially funny, but leave the viewer with a bleak, lingering aftertaste. Archetypal beauty has turned sour and perfection is replaced by a warped cartoon aesthetic. His work draws influence from both the failed industrial background of his childhood in Ontario and the fantastical world of cartoons and characters.