The Executioners; Series 1

The Executioners series builds on a smaller series of work based on Manet's Execution of Emperor Maximilian begun in September of 2014. It was an important month, to say the least. (That series can be glimpsed here.)

I returned from painting that initial series with my mind thoroughly immersed in the 19th Century, the Castles at Trieste and  Chapultepec, and the Austrian Chapel in Querétaro. Ayotzinapa reversed and complicated everything: the role of the state, Juarez's boys were in front of the guns instead of behind them, and the Rio San Juan  and Coacalco replaced the Cerro de las Campanas.

Manet's work, and certainly its continuing resonance, has informed a lot of the work I've attempted since then.

 "I forgive everyone, and I ask everyone to forgive me. May my blood, which is about to be shed, be for the good of the country.Viva Mexico, viva la independencia!"