ROSIE SNELL (BRITISH B. 1971)
Mobilized
2001
signed, titled and dated Rosie, Mobilized, 2001 (on the reverse to the wooden stretcher)
oil on canvas on board
134.6 x 91.4 cm
ARR

Provenance:
Paton Gallery, London, where purchased by the present owner

‘Through my works I aim to explore our often complex and contradictory relationship between humanity and the natural world and our increasingly urgent relationship with nature; the eulogizing and destruction, the aestheticizing and ultimately our longing for control.’

Snell shows a fascination for the contrast between military structures and their surroundings. Technological developments in warfare, as well as past conflicts, have not only created purpose-built machines but have also had a direct effect on the landscape. She describes her depictions of this as follows:

‘In these visions of post-nuclear pastoral, military objects have become monoliths, imbued with a quiet calm. Each machine static but at the same time predatory in its environment, the lack of human presence giving them an unnerving autonomy.’

Increasingly, the advancements in technology offer a new type of warfare, a post-heroic warfare. Despite the battle being a greater distance from us, the potential for destruction is far more terrifying. The ability to obliterate miles of land whilst being seated in a different country all together provides a menacing atmosphere that Snell manages to capture in this ominously still and precise painting.

‘My works are not those of a war artist, presenting a social documentation or conveying a particular political point of view, rather they endeavor to encompass both the past and the future, examining concealment, disinformation and the physical and psychological impact war has had and continues to exert upon our environment.’