Trapped Batman no.4

Pictured above is my recently completed painting 'Trapped Batman no.4', one of a (nearly finished) series of six pieces. Each painting in the series has a similar premise: a Batman model is secured on a wooden board by means of various everyday, office-type devices. The first three pieces in the series featured string, parcel tape and netting while the final two will feature polythene and masking tape. When I started this series late last year I was motivated by the entertainingly absurd (to me) image of the great superhero held at bay by such pathetic means. Now that I am approaching the completion of the series the focus has shifted somewhat in my mind and I find myself thinking about a possible fictional scenario within which these set-ups may have been made. Are they the inventions of a bored fanboy office worker playing at his desk with his Batman figure and his stationery supplies? When I think about the images that I make I nearly always come back to the thought of two worlds coming together: the exotic / fantastic and the everyday / banal. I have lots of thoughts as to why this dichotomy occurs so frequently and will perhaps explore them in posts to come.