Alex Hayward
3. CAVALIERS FOR CROMWELL (PETER IN TWO POSITIONS) - Oliver’s Army, Elvis Costello, 1979, 2020
Gouache, pencil crayon and collage on paper
Image size: 38 x 63 cm
Frame size: 59 x 83 cm
Frame size: 59 x 83 cm
This work is framed in a dark grey wood frame with a window mount and is glazed. Scan the QR for further details about the work. The artist: '‘Oliver’s Army’...
This work is framed in a dark grey wood frame with a window mount and is glazed.
Scan the QR for further details about the work.
The artist: "‘Oliver’s Army’ is a 1979 song about Britain and the socioeconomic impact of war. The piano is lively - you can hear the cuffs. Apparently, Elvis Costello was very taken with ‘Dancing Queen’ and decided he wanted to write a song like that. Another big thing happened to Britain in 1979. Margaret Thatcher.
My parents are generally swing voter, but back in the day, my Dad voted for Margaret Thatcher three times. I find this fact very conflicting because I believe that the tides of individualism and privatisation that swelled during Thatcher’s premiership caused or solidified many of the problems and inequalities we see today.
Evidently, Thatcherite policy ‘spoke’ to people like my parents. It aided them to get a firm step on the property ladder; laying the foundations for my financially stable upbringing. In a simple win/lose glance, maybe my parents got their milk. But at what cost?
My parents are good people, but I wonder sometimes how to feel about the political landscape they have, in a small way, shaped."
Scan the QR for further details about the work.
The artist: "‘Oliver’s Army’ is a 1979 song about Britain and the socioeconomic impact of war. The piano is lively - you can hear the cuffs. Apparently, Elvis Costello was very taken with ‘Dancing Queen’ and decided he wanted to write a song like that. Another big thing happened to Britain in 1979. Margaret Thatcher.
My parents are generally swing voter, but back in the day, my Dad voted for Margaret Thatcher three times. I find this fact very conflicting because I believe that the tides of individualism and privatisation that swelled during Thatcher’s premiership caused or solidified many of the problems and inequalities we see today.
Evidently, Thatcherite policy ‘spoke’ to people like my parents. It aided them to get a firm step on the property ladder; laying the foundations for my financially stable upbringing. In a simple win/lose glance, maybe my parents got their milk. But at what cost?
My parents are good people, but I wonder sometimes how to feel about the political landscape they have, in a small way, shaped."
