The following statement was originally sent to Jeaniene Dekker – it is a retort to her comment on Black Christ at Facebook.com which essentially included one single deleted expletive. Here’s my retort…

Hi Jeaniene – I thought you might like to know the reasons behind Black Christ. Following the traditions of Post Modernism I have created this image as part of  series called Indoor Street Art. You can see the others at http://paulbaines.co.uk – there is a long explanation of the exact meaning I intended to convey at the blog – but as a brief synopsis…

We are in a time of crisis, the American dream is collapsing, I am British and have watched the ever increasing clambour for materialism and wealth, short term and capitalist gain across the earth. Finally America is losing its crown and we are all now forced to debate our purpose as a race on a deeper level.

Black Christ deals with the media’s fixation on Barack Obama. A good man, but a man, one individual human being nevertheless. The media have a tradition of praising and raising the profile of any individual they choose to a ‘celebrity status’ however as history shows they also have a habit of destroying those same creations with an equal relish.

Barack is one of many (in history) who I believe will be forced through this same process, a media filter if you will. What sells newspapers? Good news? Rarely. Bad news sells, it creates more coverage, increases circulation and attracts more advertisers. This is the nature of capitalism, perhaps the greatest crime of modern days is due to the philosophy of the global market. Reducing each culture and each individual to a saleable commodity.

Barack cannot save the world, he maybe the greatest US president in waiting, but he is simply a man, a good man, a great orator, perhaps a great politician, but nothing more. The fact that the media are most likely to martyr him for his inability to ‘save the world’ inspired me to create this work.

Religion and spirituality has for many been superseded by the fears of the immediate, internal argument, war, poverty, oppression, greed, corrupt government, the corporate stranglehold on every part of society. Barack Obama will not be able to change this, and it is the media who are guilty of raising public expectation beyond the truth of our reality.

Evolution is a long and painful process, people succeed at the expense of others, the truism of nature’s rules, the survival of the strongest has never been more pertinent.

Politics has entered a new arena, a system of belief and hope, yet it will never be able to fulfil its promises, if more people on this planet could see the potential of humanity perhaps government and the media would become redundant, but the spiritual ascension of the human race has been fraught with political argument from the word go.

I am from a Christian country, however most people of my land neither believe nor discuss theology, spirituality, religion of any form. There are cultures engaged in a holy war, others who attempt to ignore it, for myself organised religion has as much to answer for as government, the media and corporations, if we as individuals don’t take account of our own actions for the sake of humanity (and nothing more) I doubt that any of our needs or wishes will be acknowledged. There is no reason for conflict but for the greed of those who wish in some form to gain power or control over their fellow man.

Barack is not Christ, he is not a saviour, a superman, simply a decent man with respect for his fellow human beings on this planet. He provides a glimmer of hope that politics may one day evolve, that corporate wealth will dissolve in the mass realisation that our materialist existence is both damaging ourselves and our planet.

I know this, you know this, unfortunately the media and corporate power knows this too. He will become a target, he will be tested, it is a shame that the good of this world must fight its corner against a barrage of salacious tittle-tattle, slander and contrite objection. But this is the nature of modern capitalism. I’d like to have more hope in humanity, the idea that good will win over evil, but life teaches harsh lessons.

It is better to be prepared than merely hope, or believe that change will come, if we as a race could sit down together and talk for the rest of our existence all argument may finally be resolved. However mortality limits our achievements, we have limited lives and hence scope, we cannot rise above the temptations around us without a supportive and understanding society, which in the 21st Century seems more and more fixated with the immediate than the longterm.

I hope this gives you some insight into the reasons I do what I do.

This post is tagged argument, art, artist, Barack, Christ, Christianity, criticism, critique, Facebook, Jeaniene Dekker, retort, South Africa, truth