'Putin and the putti' Oil on canvas 60 x 80 cm (Sold)
This painting depicts the Haludova Palace Hotel on the island of Krk in Croatia. The hotel opened its doors in 1972. It was the most luxurious and ambitious accommodation in all socialist countries. In 1991 the civil war started in the former Yugoslavia. Haludovo was initially vacant as the conflict kept foreign tourists away. But the empty hotel proved useful for another purpose. During the 1991-95 war it housed refugees. Haludovo was privatized in 1995. It fell into the hands of the Croatian Privatization Fund. In the early 2000s, after an earlier sale, a majority stake in Haludovo was sold again, this time to the Armenian-Russian businessman Ara Abramyan. He sold the entire contents of the Palace hotel. Abramyan was also a close ally of Vladimir Putin. Pictured here centrally in the painting. The Palace Hotel welcomed its last guests around New Year 2002. After many years of neglect, Haludovo Palace Hotel has become a very dangerous place. Piles of broken glass cover the floor. Large chunks of the concrete stairs have broken off and fallen to the ground. In the painting the Haludovo has been updated with reference to the war in Ukraine. For example, the graffitti on the wall on the right shows the date of the invasion of the Russians: 24-2-2022. In addition, so-called putti appear in a few places in the painting. Putti are chubby children's figures in sculpture and painting, almost always male and usually naked. They symbolize innocence. If the child has wings, it is also called a cherub. Bottom left two putti look pityingly towards Putin. They are Raphael's putti. At the top right, a putto shoots an arrow towards Putin and at the bottom right is the well-known doll Chucky from the film Child's Play. Horror doll Chucky, possessed by the ghost of a serial killer, has terrified several generations. In the painting he is about to attack Putin. The Haludova Palace Hotel therefore symbolizes the destruction, greed and murder of the Putin regime. Perhaps the 'putti' will eventually offer a solution and beauty and innocence will prevail.
