#singhtwins

This piece of symbolic artwork created by the Singh twins is a response to COVID 19 and how the UK has dealt with it. It has been done in Egg tempera. You can see this by the smooth, almost printed quality and that the piece is made up of lots of little sections, as with egg tempera you have to work fast and cannot go back to work on certain areas. It doesn’t blend easily due to this, however, this could be an advantage as this means that colours don’t mix together and give a murky effect. Egg tempera has a clean finish and the colours are characteristically vibrant. The Singh twins might have used egg tempura as this is the medium classically used to decorate church interiors and was also used for a lot of religious artwork, this is significant as the layout reminds me of the way in which monks used to record important or significant events from the bible or throughout history. The Singh twins are cleverly playing with that idea, suggesting that this is a very significant time in our lives using the traditional calligraphy, design and medium to portray that.  

The main focus of this piece; the Asian nurse killing the COVID dragon seems to be inspired by the story of Saint George and the Dragon. The fact that the nurse is acting as Saint George shows how significant their role has been during this pandemic, being almost depicted as heroes in this piece, protecting us from COVID and also death, which is riding the dragon. However, the fact that Boris Johnson is stabbing her in the back suggests that Brexit is also incorporated into this painting, as Boris Johnson supports Brexit. Hence the reason why the title of this piece is “fighting on two fronts” as the nurses are fighting the pandemic but also their right to remain in Britain.  Boris Johnson is significantly smaller than the nurse as the Singh twins are playing on the idea of hierarchy. In traditional religious paintings, the most important characters would be the largest and the least important would be meaningfully smaller. Therefore, they depict Johnson as being unimportant in helping to fight COVID, but also there is no seriousness about him as he is gnome-like and is portrayed as immature. Britannia is also small and removed from the painting by being in the distance. This could suggest that we have forgotten the idea of unity and community and that Brexit has been forced to the back of our minds because of the pandemic, however it’s still a prominent issue.  

This painting is set in an area similar to that of the white cliffs of Dover. This suggests two meanings. Firstly, reminding us that we are an island nation, so we should have been able to control the pandemic, reminding us of how badly our government has dealt with it. Secondly, the white cliffs of Dover are a symbol of “defiance” and a “wall against foreign threats” (https://newrepublic.com/article/155456/white-cliffs-brexit) . Again, pushing the idea that the Asian nurse has to fight the pandemic and the racism that brought about Brexit. In the painting the nurse is fighting the pandemic precariously close to the edge of the cliff, seeming like she could fall off any second, which could suggest the danger that our NHS would be in and the lives that would be altered because of Brexit.

The Singh twins have created a new exhibition called ‘Slaves of fashion’. Focusing on “global art, design, fashion, lifestyle, but the politics of Empire, colonialism, conflict and conquest”. Taking inspiration from collections at the National Museums of Liverpool. Looking at the historical collections, Victorian history, Tudor portraits, photography, Indian prints, textiles, costumes and jewellery. 

My favourite piece from the exhibit, was a piece called ‘Indigo: The Colour of India’. This piece features a pair of 20th century blue denim jeans designed by Fleming’s Ltd. Produced as work wear and manual workers, for the Liverpool dock workers. With a mixture of print textiles by William Morris, taken from a pair of 18th century woven twill curtains. On their website they discuss this digital art as being focused around “economic conflict, including cotton, calico and muslin, along with chintz, which was a traditional Indian design appropriated by the British and which, centuries later, is now seen as quintesentially English”.  

In April I had the privilege of photographing the remarkable Singh Twins. Based in Liverpool, the twin sisters are contemporary artists whose work combines traditional Indian Miniature style with contemporary subject matter. Their work gives us a glimpse into their upbringing as first generation British Sikhs and explores global issues of identity, pop culture and politics. The Singh Twins have held over 40 solo exhibitions around the world, with two pieces permanently installed at the Royal Ontario Museum.