Brexit Forecast - a painting about Brexit that expresses how I feel
Brexit Forecast by Jane Tomlinson (c) 2019.
And now, it’s time for the Brexit Forecast…
In the run up to Brexit, the only thing I could do with my feelings of sadness, frustration, anger, embarrassment, and the horror I have about Brexit was to paint them.
Overtly political paintings are not what I do. But the most gigantic political issue that Britain has faced, possibly since the Henry VIII broke with Rome, and certainly since the ‘Glorious Revolution’, has forced me into it. Brexit.
I loved being European, and enjoyed the diversity and similarities of all of my EU brothers and sisters. I value our close historical, cultural and commercial relationships. But above all I especially cherish the last 60 years of peace. The EU is not perfect, but as Churchill said: “Meeting jaw to jaw is better than war.”
The result of the 2016 Leave/Remain EU referendum still distresses me. The electorate were lied to by a bunch of self-serving, (predominently) ‘establishment’ white male figures with deep and murky vested financial interests. To me, it stinks of a right-wing coup!
A country divided
My country – a union of four small nations – is now riven. And, I believe people have misguided notions of Britain’s ‘Greatness’ based on a bullying Empire that plundered and enslaved entire populations. I was not taught about Empire at school.
In the run up to Brexit, the catastrophic, chaotic UK government was in meltdown; paralysed by long-obscured festering divisions within the country which have been exposed for all to see.
Stormy weather
Britain is just a tiny archipelago on the fringe of Europe, no more or less important than any other country. We love drinking tea, moaning, eating chips, and talking about the weather – which is also a subject I frequently paint. The best way to express my feelings about Brexit was to paint them as a weather map, entitled “Brexit Forecast”.
The figure in the top left is Britannia, the Roman goddess of these isles. Her lion covers his eyes depairingly, and her unicorn leaps away to join a flying pig. The whole of Brexit is a fantasy.
The figure in the bottom right is Europa, the goddess after whom the continent is named. She rides her consort – Zeus the bull – and entreats Britain not to leave.
I hardly need to explain the rest!
This is my opinion freely expressed – as is my democratic right – on my website. I understand it may not be yours. But I make no apology to you, as you wouldn’t to me. If you don’t agree, then why not paint your own Brexit Forecast map? But whether you voted Leave or Remain, I wish you Peace.
This painting is dedicated to Donald Tusk, President of the European Council; to Michel Barnier, the EU’s Chief Negotiator for Brexit; and to Jean Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission. With thanks for the heroic patience they have shown in dealing with a country so deeply divided that it doesn’t actually know what it wants.
