GLOBAL GATHERING

 

Global Gathering, acrylic on canvas, 2022. 84” X 42”

This painting is a sequel to G7: You Can Count on Us. It has the same concept of animal representations of countries gathering for a global meeting, but with major differences and additional animals.

The new countries and their respective animals are:

Brazil = Jaguar

The national animal of Brazil is the jaguar, seated beside Canada's beaver in the painting. It wears a green and yellow costume with a badge depicting the blue, star-studded disc on Brazil's flag.

Russia = Brown bear

In geopolitical cartoons, Russia is usually represented by a bear. The bear in the painting wears a fur coat typically worn by Russians and had a badge with a Russian flag on it.

China = Giant panda

The giant panda is native to China and is a symbol of the country's wildlife. The panda in the painting wears a red and yellow outfit matching the Chinese flag's colors, complete with the flag's five stars on the right chest area. The panda holds a calligraphy brush as it writes the meeting's agendas.

Singapore = Lion

The lion is the national animal of Singapore, as it is a powerful and historic symbol of Singapore's name meaning: the Lion City. The artist made Singapore's lion a "younger" lion compared to the one representing the United Kingdom because it gained independence more recently, in 1965. The lion wears white robes and a red cape emblazoned with the crescent and five stars of the Singaporean flag, which reflects the colors of said flag.

Background

All the pictured countries' leaders were present in the recent G20 meeting in Rome, with Singapore as a guest nation.

The panda is seen writing the agenda of the meeting, which is the problems currently faced by the nations. The problems are listed in multiple languages including English, Chinese, French, Russian and Hindi, based on the nations putting their issues forward.

1. COVID-19 pandemic (English)

The coronavirus pandemic is a worldwide health crisis faced by almost every nation in the world, costing millions of lives across the globe. 

2. Climate change (Chinese)

China "puts the issue forward" due to the country being one of the top contributors of major factors leading to climate change.

3. Invasion of Ukraine (Russian)

Recently, Russian forces invaded the neighboring country of Ukraine, sparking a brutal war which killed thousands and made millions of Ukrainians homeless. As a result, many nations condemned Russia's unprovoked invasion as a war crime. The painting was made prior to the major phases of the invasion. 

4. Financial crisis (French)

The European Union plans to reform its fiscal rules that govern public and government spending, debt and investment policies.

5. Environmental pollution (India)

India is currently facing a pollution crisis which had reached a catastrophic scale in both land, water and air.

Major differences

All the costumes worn by the animals are now colored based on their national flags, and some of them display their flags or symbols. Germany's eagle wears a badge depicting its national emblem. Canada's beaver now has maple leaf patterns on its coat. The maple leaf is the leaf on Canada's flag. The beaver is seen sipping tea from a tea cup.

The French rooster wears an 18th-century French uniform colored in the French flag's colors, and now stands behind Italy's wolf and beside Brazil's jaguar. The buttons on the rooster's uniform are colored like the French Tricolor flag. Italy's wolf now wears a suit colored in red and green, and is posed similarly to a picture of Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi.

The American eagle's costume color scheme is inspired by comic character Captain America, and has a red and white-striped scarf, symbolizing the country's flag. The United Kingdom's lion now wears a red coat which is based on the red uniforms worn by the British Royal Guard. Under the coat the lion also wears a shirt with the Union Jack on it. 

Australia's kangaroo now wears a dark blue coat with the Southern Cross, based off the Australian flag. Japan's dog is now dressed in a white kimono and red hakama, which are traditional Japanese clothes. India's elephant wears a kurta, a traditional Indian shirt, colored in the colors of the Indian flag.

The items on the table are mostly food and drinks, and the cake is a typical large cake. The mini burgers on the table have the pictured nations' flags planted on them. There are tea cups and wine glasses on the table, accompanied by teapots and wine bottles. Some of the tea cups are placed on a tea tray. 

The panels on the walls are replaced by windows. The ceiling of the background has a dome with a world map on it, which is inspired by ceiling domes found in Dome cafes and perhaps the flag of the United Nations which depicts an azimuthal projection map of the world viewed from the north pole.