Philjames Ciggie-butt queen

The work is a continuation of my cigarette-butt paintings, which are in essence still-life paintings, as each butt is painted from life. The works often question art history, in this case the institution of the monarchy.

Ciggie-butt queen shouldn’t be read as an assault on Her Royal Highness, the late Queen Elizabeth II, but preferably as a questioning of colonialism (of which I am a product) and the concept of a monarchy (which I find absurd). Ciggie-butt queen is a small act of rebellion; sometimes we need to destroy in order to rebuild.

Philjames, 2023