“… the real business of the War is buying and selling. The murdering and the violence are self-policing, and can be entrusted to non-professionals… True war is a celebration of markets.” —Thomas Pynchon, Gravity’s Rainbow
Burtonwood and Holmes is a collaborative project by artists Tom Burtonwood and Holly Holmes. Begun in late 2002 our collaboration started as a protest to the impending invasion of Iraq. Initially the images we produced were painted life size on gallery walls, then later on aluminum and other mirrored surfaces. Each iteration sought to further include the viewer in the work, to protest the war by bringing it home. At first it was the scale of the paintings that accomplished this aim, then the mirrored surface literally included the viewer in the image.
In 2005 – borrowing a line from Warhol -we started using sales flyers and junk mail from grocery stores and retailers to represent society as reflected in images of everyday goods. Products are not who we are but can signify how we approach our daily lives.
As this line of inquiry developed two clear goals emerged. First to illustrate that consumer culture is used as camouflage to divert public attention away important issues like the Iraq war. Second to show that war is a profitable venture for big business and keeping the shareholders happy means moving inventory and encouraging new conflicts.
“…Logistics is the procedure following which a nation’s potential is transferred to its armed forces, in times of peace as in times of war…” –Paul Virilio, Pure War
