Fish Weapon Study

20x25cm / 8x10”
acrylic, colour pencils, acrylic markers and carving on wood
2024
 
These fish weapons take the form of arctic chars and feature Art Nouveau patterns. 
 
Art Nouveau is a school of decorative art at the turn of the 19th century. This style uses sinuous curves and natural motifs such as fruits, flowers and animals heavily. It was also a romantic cry against industrialism. 
 
I borrow this idealised sentiment for the hope of a paradise, a contradictory tension with the nature of a weapon. 
 
The fish weapon shoots out icicles. In the cold, a sharp hard ice at high speed is lethal. Outside the arctic Northlandia, or when ice melts in Northlandia, the weapon is useless.
 
As a small child, I read a detective story where only a puddle of water was found besides the corpse. A cube of ice was the fatal weapon. 
 
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This woodcut painting is carved and then coloured with the highest quality artist pigments. Archival professional-quality paint is meant to last over 100 years. I spray the artwork with three extra layers of UV protection.
 
 
The work is framed in a beautiful ornate super sturdy solid pine wooden frame. You have a choice of black or white frames. 
 
This piece is part of my “21 Day Challenge” project. During 1-21 November 2024, I created one small woodcut drawing per day. Each features an animal character inhabitant from my imaginary arctic country “Northlandia.”