⭐️ I am the Astra ⭐️: Corona

This piece is to mark the occasion of the burial of Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, know as Queen Elizabeth II.

This satyrical work makes a relationship between the deadly dissemination of Coronavirus in the world and the equally mortal spread of the British Empire across many nations. Chokingly, until the year of 1922 the Britain ruled a fifth of the world’s population and a quarter of the world’s total land area.

The word Corona means ‘crown’ in Latin.

I created the sketch for this piece in February 2020 when I was stuck in Brazil during the pandemic after having gone home to see my parents for Christmas. Interestingly during the same period, I started creating the collection Animal Farm, that would later on be born as a NFT collection called Animal Farm OYX.

Animal Farm OYX is a body of work created to support the development of the Surui Paiter and Cintas-Largas people as well as their #CriptomoedaOYX project. 100% of the primary sales of this project are going to them.

The painting Corona is inspired by the St Edward’s Crown, and again makes a relationship between the dissemination of Coronavirus in the world, and in this case, the invasion of the United Kingdom in India at the end of the 16th century. There are many misleading perceptions regarding the true impact of the colonization of India. 

For example, 'the famous story involving the Koh-i-Noor diamond, set in the middle of the front cross of a crown used by the Queen Mother up until her death in 2002. For many Indians, the Koh-i-Noor is a symbol of colonial subjugation and three centuries of exploitation that began with the East India Company and ended with the independence, and partition, of India in 1947. The Indian government wanted the return of this historic stone that was either a gift to Queen Victoria or stolen by the British, depending on divergent perspectives.'

The primary and secondary sales will be split in half with the COLLECTIVE OYXABATEN. . . . Corona 2021 mixed media on canvas        27 x 19.5 cm