Call it a zoo, a jungle, or even a vet’s office. However you want to spin it, there’s one common message uniting these commonly used analogies; politics is animalistic. Beyond the façade of polite photo-ops and civil debate (well, civil is one way of describing it) lies an undying lust for power and dominance. Why are so many politicians power-hungry monsters, you ask? Well, who else would decide to become a politician? To dedicate your life to gaining power, you’d need to want that power pretty bad.
“Robbie Bobbie” 2014
Frank Gunn
Meet Tony Taylor. He’s an OCAD-trained painter working in Toronto who sees through this posturing and has aimed to show us politics for what they really are: a small clan of animals ruling over everyone else. I met him at an art fair outside of Toronto City Hall and had a chance to ask him some more questions about his life and work.
“How to Respond” 2011
Patrick Doyle
He accomplishes this goal in the most hilarious way, by reproducing real photographs from political events and replacing the human heads of the leaders with animal heads. Taylor says that the species he chooses “reflect a truer sense of their character.” Apparently in Taylor’s opinion, Rob Ford simultaneously reflects the character of a cow, a raccoon, and a blowfish.
“You guys have just attacked Kuwait” 2014
Tyler Anderson
Behind the outrageous aesthetic of Taylor’s work lies a somber sense of responsibility and an earnest concern for the well-being of mankind: “I paint what I paint because I am concerned about the direction we’re headed in as a species. Few people are making decisions that consistently and negatively effect a large percentage of the population; and I believe there is a desperate need for things to change.”
Taylor says that his distrust of people in power probably began back in his teenager days. The talented artist grew up on a farm in the middle of nowhere, and picked up skateboarding as a high-schooler, an activity that he says influenced him to question figures of authority . In 2007, while completing his MA in fine art at the University of Arts London (England, not Ontario), Taylor began focusing his paintings on the images in the news. While studying in the UK, Taylor took the opportunity to travel extensively through Europe, an experience that exposed him to the politically-charged art scenes blooming in countries like Ireland and Greece, ones facing debilitating economic grief and infuriating political misconduct. That, along with a serious taste for documentaries, spurred a passion in Taylor for making art that tackles the current and challenges the viewer.
“Au Revoir Canada” 2014
Paul Chiasson
The primary focus of Taylor’s art are events such as economic forums and summits where politicians meet each other and pose with each other for pictures. To Taylor, these meetings represent one of the greatest falsehoods of our current political system: “Affection and friendship expressed through overt body language and tone in front of the cameras communicate an often convincing, but false sense of ‘we’re all in this together’.”
“The Harper Ford Accord” 2014
Mark Blinch
Despite their altruistic appearances, we know that these politicians are really just in it for themselves.
“The People Are My God” 2014
yeowatzup
In the above piece, a painting of former North Korean figureheads Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il is remade replacing the leaders’ heads with those of unicorns. A sensible replacement given the mythical status of the Kim family within their Communist regime. Luckily, Taylor’s art hasn’t been interpreted by the current North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un yet as an “act of war”.
We asked Tony what animal he’d choose to paint himself as if he decided to make a self-portrait. He told us simply without explanation, “orangutan.” Interestingly, he has given that same animal portrait to the current mayor of Toronto. (Maybe Rob Ford really is the relateable “everyman” he constantly describes himself as!)
“Mr. Mockery” 2014
David Cooper
Whether it’s Harper the flamingo or Marois the horse, Taylor tries to make us laugh and make us think. Now let’s just hope that we can help keep these wild creatures we call politicians accountable and in check.
Go to tonytaylorart.com to learn more about this talented artist’s work.