This ceramic portrait of Juan Carlos I of Spain is also a suggestion box. The public can share their opinions, suggestion or concerns about the political scene where democracy and monarchy are supposed to cohabit.
The public can write their messages on paper, place them in the back of the head and burn them, leaving a smoke mark on the ceramic, representing the contradiction many people feel about monarchy within a democracy, feeling no heard and disconnected from politics.
I placed this sculpture in the street for people to see and interact with the portrait, offering them to be part of it and create a stronger connection with the concept while creating a dialogue.
I was particularly interested in how people living in the UK feel about monarchy within a democracy, as it does in Spain.
I wanted to highlight the plight of how Spanish people are being victimised for expressing their opinions about the government and monarchy, some of them facing jail time, while other people in positions of power are involved in corruption but still free. An awareness call that enhances the contradiction of monarchy and democracy altogether.
Ceramic.
34 x 30 x 28 cm
2018.