The Frogs Who Desired a King

About

Hantverk & Found is pleased to present The Frogs Who Desired a King, a new solo exhibition from Margate based artist Twinkle Troughton. Twinkle’s dynamic, skilfully realised paintings use iconic fables as a way to explore the complexities of revolution, with particular focus on Syria in this present day. The exhibition will be raising money for Hand in Hand for Syria, a charity that provides emergency relief on the ground in Syria.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Twinkle Troughton is an artist living and working in Margate. Through her paintings, Twinkle skilfully connects the past with the present, exploring parallels between current social and political issues with the ancient moral lessons told in fables. She has exhibited both in the UK and internationally and has work in many notable private collections. Twinkle’s politically charged work has garnered national press attention, in particular her performative art-stunt collaboration with Tinsel Edwards, where the artists “kidnapped a banker”.

“With the fine skills of an old master she paints her fabulous paintings…” Wiener Zeitung (Vienna Daily)
'Entertainingly Derisive and unforgiving' Metro Newspaper

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

Using a combination of oils and acrylics on paper, Twinkle’s paintings bridge the past with the present. Focussing on political and social struggles, she explores the apparent stagnancy within these spheres, revealing the contemporary relevance of ancient fables.

Specifically, Twinkle’s current work is inspired by the Aesop’s fable The Frogs Who Desired a King, a tale about a pond full of frogs that desire change. Instead of change, the frogs are sent King Stork, a dictator-like figure who devours them all. King Louis XIV is thought to have favoured the story for its common interpretation that people shouldn’t challenge the status quo. In short, be careful what you ask for.

In her new paintings Twinkle uses the frogs’ plight as a way to explore the complexities of revolution, with particular focus on Syria in the present day. In keeping with the broad simplicity of Aesop’s settings - scenes for fables are often set ‘by a road’ or ‘under a tree’ - Twinkle uses fluid brush strokes to evoke war torn landscapes, without explicitly describing a particular time or place. She combines this principal with influences from historical war painters such as Paul Nash and age-old painting techniques such as Sgraffito, to create compelling scenes, imbued with subtle references. Allusions to the ancient Norias Wheels from the town of Hama, Syria, for example, where some of the largest uprisings have taken place. Elsewhere jagged paint marks leave impressions of where buildings once stood in the rubble, alongside gnarly trees, depicted neither as dead nor alive.

A signed editioned giclee print will be raffled off at the Private View, with proceeds being donated to Hand in Hand for Syria. 10% of all sales from the exhibition will also be donated to the charity.