This large Unpopular Penguin is based on the 1960 Penguin Books version, which contained the full and uncensored text for the first time. The book was immediately banned, leading to the famous obscenity trial. In court, it was demonstrated that the book had literary merit and was made available once again to the reading public, an important cultural turning point. Freedom of speech is, of course, a topic that remains relevant today. The orange lines through the text represent failed attempts at censorship.
This painting is on 9mm MDF board, cradled all around on the back with cypress, for a total thickness of 28mm. Please be aware that this is a solid, substantial, heavy artwork - approx 11kg in total. The sides are painted and it is ready to hang without framing (but put the hooks into a strong surface!) The painted surface is built up of many layers of paint, having a rich texture, and is sealed beneath a gloss varnish.
The paintings in this series are held in collections around the world, and have been in various art prizes and prominent Australian galleries. Edmund Capon, former director of the Art Gallery of NSW, said of the first painting in this series, ‘an evocative imagining of the familiar Penguin paperback...it was a painting we all liked very much for its rich texture, its sense of memory and its sort of nostalgic humour’
A striking painting for lovers of art, books, and classic design.