Additional Information

Charlotte and her Angel
Oil on Aluminium Panel
Sustainable Australian Oak Frame
100cm x 130cm x 5cm (including ready to hang frame)
Original painting by Brooke Walker

My passion for wildlife is paramount to my artistic practice and is what drives me to create the art that I do. This new set of works blends the familiar scenes of the London Underground and urban decay with the lives the Great Apes. On travelling to London for the first time in 2017 I was inspired by the beauty of the older stations, the mystery of the abandoned ones and the interconnected network that all happened below ground. I found it sometimes disorientating emerging from the depths below. This manmade habitat is far removed for that of the Asian and African jungle, but with the continued destruction of wildlife homes by humans, I started wondering what it would look like if they had to live in our cities as we do.

Taking inspiration from the Renaissance paintings of the Madonna and Child, Charlotte and her Angel captures the raw emotion of a mother’s love. Whist the infant is full of bliss, being comforted in the mothers arms, Charlotte has a wary gaze possibly concerned by what lies ahead. 

Following on with the London Underground theme, Angel Railway Station is a fitting juxtaposition of symbolism and meaning. In today’s world the Angel Tube, built in 1901, is updated and fully functional for the busy commutes of city dwellers. In this paintng however, nature has begun to creep back in reclaiming the habitat. The angelic pose of the white dove instills a sense of hope that one day these gentle primates will be able to live in peace and safety, unshadowed by the endless greed of man.