Art and politics can make for a heady mix – one that has the possibility of opening up debate in highlighting topical issues, whether around poverty, abuse, duplicity and conflict, or can consist of such things as statements and posters that, while perceptive, bring any debate to a conclusion. Such is the case with the work of Richard Hamilton, with work that ranges from the provocative and thoughtful to images that are more agit prop than comment, initially arresting but which are instant and closed. Hamilton, an artist who is credited with being one of the leaders of pop art, uses images from popular culture to comment on the mores of contemporary society. He has continued to be fascinated by the way the media, in particular newspapers, film and television portray contemporary, events.
An effective early example consists of the dramatic snatched press photographs of Mick Jagger and the art dealer Robert Fraser, each attempting to shield their face from the intrusive camera as they were busted for drugs and whisked away in a police car in the late 1960s. The press photograph inspired Hamilton’s series Swingeing London which initially grew out of outrage on his friend’s behalf, but later took on a plea for radical liberalism – a crucial aspect of the Labour Government’s policy at that time. One image incorporates actual handcuffs to heighten the dramatic effect.
Modern Moral Matters concentrates on Hamilton’s political or protest works series through installation, prints, paintings that take as their subject matter politics, riots, terrorists acts and war, including conflict in Northern Ireland and the Iraq war. His starting point, as in the Swingeing London series, is the way such events are represented by the media. Through manipulation, print and collage, the original image becomes a commentary on injustice and exploitation. The notorious “dirty protest” in the Maze prison was when republican prisoners, demanding recognition as political prisoners, went on hunger strike and smeared their cells with excrement. Hamilton’s The Citizen, which contrasts an image of a shit-smeared wall with a Christ-like figure wearing only a blanket, takes on both religious as well as secular power.
A series of disturbing images of Hugh Gaitskell made up of a collage of four images, giving him the appearance of a Frankenstein monster, constitute a reflection on his reluctance to support disarmament and his many faces, affirming Hamilton’s view that “a satirical painting should be topical and passionate’. He might also have added “angry”. Other public figures include the anti-war demonstrator Dean Kahler and Mordechai Vanunu, Israel’s nuclear whistleblower.
Two large maps are quietly effective in highlighting the current plight of the Middle East. One contrasts the states of Palestine and Israel 40 years ago with the present situation. The dramatic shrinking of Palestine in contrast to the expanded size of Israel is effective and needs little explanation.
The cult of the personality comes under scrutiny in Treatment Room, a claustrophobic treatment space with a bed over which is a television screen endlessly showing Margaret Thatcher’s speeches. With its overtones of A Clockwork Orange, the installation could be a space where corrective treatment might be inflicted upon those who are not toeing the party line. Less successful is a near life size image of a well-dressed cowboy fingering his pistols bearing the collaged head of Tony Blair. While presenting the former Prime Minister as a cowboy with a taste for war and violence, it subverts any concept of hero worship but is too simplistic to be little more than an eye-catching poster.
With its combination of political commentary and media bias, Hamilton brings a serious and often thoughtful response to disturbing events of our times. His satire is aimed as much at the manipulative media as the duplicity of politicians.
Richard Hamilton: Modern Moral Matters continues until April 25
