Sebastian Tanti Burlo’ - Antic Hay
I’ve always admired, and maybe even been a little bit envious of, political cartoonists. They’ve honed keen observational skills that enable them to convey complex current events in a single image. While they often oversimplify situations via creatively exaggerated features, the best ones need no captions and should generally make you laugh. How, then, does an artist translate those skills to oil on canvas?
That appears to be the journey that Maltese political cartoonist Sebastian Tanti Burlò is currently exploring. The dozen works in his first UK solo show are filled with the kinds of colour, texture and superfluous detail that you can’t justifiably squeeze into a single newspaper cartoon panel. Eye catching patterned floors. Leafy flora and fauna. And shadows. So many shadows! These are indulgent painterly touches intended to draw your eyes and keep them lingering.
And yet Burlò’s political cartoon background still shines through. The scenes are straightforward, easily understood and amusing. Look at the maniacally laughing man with skin colour that matches the olive in his martini. Wearing a bow tie and braces, with a crisp white shirt offset against a blood red background and dark shadows, this is a curious character that could easily be a Bond villain. I’m captivated by the image and got stuck wondering whether his laugh would be deep or high pitched.
It’s one of the stronger works in the show because it gives almost no context, which I suspect is a challenge for Burlò. Political cartoonists are conditioned to present immediately obvious observations to a broad spectrum of observers. Nuance rarely features. The point is to make a point, and to make it loud and clear. That’s a trap that I felt too many of his other works fell into.
Over half the paintings depict the 1% in lavish homes and exotic holiday destinations. They are surrounded by opulence, and are frequently alone either literally or in spirit. It’s amusing to see these fat cats looking isolated and grotesque. But… so what? A wealthy elite will always exist and live a luxury lifestyle compared to the rest of us, and I’m not really sure what Burlò is saying by taking aim at them. Without a specific current event with which to align these images, they have no bite.
Born in Malta, Burlò is now working and living in London so I’m more interested by his outsider’s take on the English. Foreigners are often the best placed people to identify and articulate those very subtle, specific things that characterise a people or nation. When you don’t grow up surrounded and saturated by something, the things the locals take for granted jump out at you as distinct and unique.
Bournemouth Bathers is the sole work in the show that puts the everyday English in the crosshairs of Burlò’s satirical wit. It shows an older, overweight white couple with skin so sunburnt it reminded me of the crispy orange beef that arrived with my last Chinese takeaway. The man has “It’s Coming Home” and the Cross of St. George tattooed on his saggy bicep. His wife has talon sized fake nails and wears oversized accessories. This arguably reductive image is no idyllic seaside postcard, but it’s a more powerful statement than his painting of a man reading a newspaper in an empty mansion because it has the capacity to speak to the people that might see it. Whether or not this is how the UK wants to see itself is another matter, but that makes it a painting worthy of debate.
Plan your visit
‘Antic Hay’ runs until 31 Aug.
Visit cicekgallery.com and follow @cicekartgallery on Instagram for more info about the venue.
Visit sebtantiburlo.com and follow @burlo_0 on Instagram for more info about the artist.
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