What is not a tradition is plagiarism, says Eugene D’Ors. But what tradition? Charlie Billingham (London, 38 years) was part of the visual world that flooded his childhood. His parents enthusiastically collect artist prints George Cruikshank. Cruikshank’s name was unknown outside Great Britain, but there he was part of a school which, under the tolerant policies of the British Government during the 18th and 19th centuries, scored a sharp critique of the realities of the day. Today, when in your country Prime Minister Liz Truss He has resigned After just 44 days in office, when the 2022 UK Political Crisis had several pages on Wikipedia, the critical and confused gaze seemed to be more popular than ever.

“His works fascinate me and I feel a close connection to the images,” he said. So, like everyone else nurture their childish imagination with Herge one of Uduerzo, Billingham pondered for hours the satirical artist scene. He had to reach his formative years in London Royal Academy to realize the uniqueness of that bond. “That’s when I started to explore the reasons why I was so interested in his works. I felt there was something in his engraving that was very relevant to my own painting.”

He investigated Cruikshank’s contemporaries: James gillray and the erotic Thomas Rowlandson, closely tied to the tradition that began with painting William Hogarth and literature from Charles Dickens. The themes may seem remote, but Billingham finds radical timeliness in his scenes. “They illustrate how little the world has changed. Man today is the same as in the eighteenth century. Things happened in politics that were very similar to what happened back then.”

Theirs exhibition at the Travesía 4 gallery it is filled with caricatures that are captured in an instant. “I freed my work from narrative by cutting out part of the original print and bringing it into the painting. Hands can be more attractive than faces. His face is clear and specific, while his gestures are universal,” he said. The crowd watching the sky, a pack of dogs thanking you or the supposedly naked body harboring question marks. “I don’t like dictating what the audience gets from each piece. The interpretation is always open”, he commented with conviction. Behind him, in his study, a large green frog appeared.

Billingham’s paintings convey great graphic intensity. He created these works during his confinement. “When I saw the set, I realized that everything was talking about confusion and confusion. It appeared spontaneously.” Exhibition title swell (which is usually translated as swelling, but also as growth or increase) refers to the ebb and flow. And the rough sea waves covering the gallery walls, which Billingham stamped with a stamp that inspired the English expression: be at sea, that is, to be at sea, which is equivalent to confusion and disorientation. The partial and fragmented images of the world, the world that is no longer complete, seem to be emphasized by the frog.

Swell’s exhibition is in gallery Travesía 4 (San Mateo, 16) until 5 November

You can follow ICON on Facebook, Twitter, Instagramor subscribe here for bulletin.