The destruction of Guernica, Spain..

Little was left of this Spanish town after the bombing in April 1937, by Hitler’s planes supporting Franco’s Fascist rebellion.

Guernica by Picasso.

Little was left of the Spanish town of Guernica after the bombing in April 1937, by Hitler's planes supporting Franco's Fascist rebellion.

For two years up until this dreadful bombardment Picasso had been going through something of an artistic crises, he desperately wanted to paint something that he considered monumental; that would express the century and be remembered through time. After seeing photographs in the French newspaper Ce Soir of the result of this bombardment and human massacre Picasso had the subject matter with which to fulfil his desire. Some sixty preliminary sketches based on these newspaper photographs were drawn; a bulls head, a woman running holding a dead child, terrified horses, a figure falling into the burning ruins of their house. Placed at the foot of his huge canvas of 11 x 24 feet he transposed the sketches to the canvas, whilst all the time working on the composition. The painting is purely black and white, an influence of the black and white photos to be found in the newspapers at the time. There are no planes or bombs in the picture, this seems to add to the poignancy. Only women and pain are portrayed, a horse in the centre of the composition, pieced by a lance, symbolises the plight of the innocent and dying victims. The bull as in the bullfight, a symbol of cruelty. Figures drawn with dots and marks reflect machine gun fire. The Cubist treatment adds to the feeling of carnage. The light bulb in the centre of the room is bursting with light casting shadows like the brilliant flash of incendiaries.

The painting is not just a protest against a horrible act of war but has lasted as a symbol of the terror that humanity is capable of unleashing upon itself.

PARADE by Dan Baldwin

The painting of Parade was an organic creation the elements within symbolising not the horrors of war as depicted by Picasso but our social reaction to the aftermath of war. The war is over and there is celebration, but our celebration is at the expense of much more.

"I recycled a canvas that was totally covered in Iraqi currency, and had Big Ben on it." Dan's recycled canvas formed a back drop to the painting symbolising politics and money. Even the fact that the canvas was recycled expresses that this has all happened before, there is nothing new in war the result is always the same.

"It became so that virtually the whole canvas was covered in colour leaving only a small amount of the Iraqi money.

- I wanted it to look like a home coming celebration, but we were looking at the crowd - you can see the word 'spectators' if you look in there. . we are presented with a crowd scene or is this the parade? Clowns and girls jostle with anatomical ghosts and elements from nature. We see the American flag, a plane flying, the skull n bones in there too -

We see the great icons of American pop culture the King ELVIS and Mickey Mouse, both who had their dark sides. . and kids with tattoos, razor blades and fuck you hoodies." . ...It isn't a pro war or an anti war statement."

Dan leaves us to reflect on the scene and make up our own minds to the insanity of war. by viewing "Parade" we become one of the observers cheering our team home, the pain and misery of others ignored. It is a thoughtful painting. Without overtly showing the horror of war it allows the viewer to remember and mourn the loss of those that took an active part and consider the reasons for war, and to naively hope for a better future.