TONY BAKER  :  artist  +

Produced as both a large scale mixed media piece and a limited edition set of prints, The Brexit Triptych, deals with what triggered the decision to instigate a referendum in the first place and what drove the campaign to leave the European Union, as well as the manner in which this was orchestrated - whilst, at the same time, drawing parallels with the post-Weimar Germany of the early thirties, in which the solution to extreme austerity was to allow the rise of fascism to establish itself within the government, and ultimately result in the Holocaust that history had hoped would remain as a perpetual word of warning for all future generations.


In the left hand panel, David Cameron is flanked by Boris Johnson and Michael Gove, whilst, in an attempt to become centre stage, a smiling Nigel Farage sits like a court jester, smugly sensing his own reason d'être - in addition, obscured beyond recognition, and hidden in the sequence of overlays, lies an image of Dominic Cummings, whose efforts, it is considered (along with media giants) were instrumental in manipulating public opinion over the country's membership to the EU.


This is then offset by the images of the ear-protectors and blindfold of the other two panels, which act as a metaphor for the cause and effect of David Cameron's arrogant decision to call the nations bluff, and silence his detractors. 


Up until the referendum, government had increasingly failed to listen to its electorate, campaigns such as Stop the War had fallen on deaf ears, and the nations faith in those in power was distinctively waning, so the knee jerk reaction to his unsuccessful attempts to broker a better deal with the EU was to go blindly into a snap-referendum in which the government neglected to thoroughly research and present all the ramifications of things such as trade, the Welfare State and National Security, in favour of seeking the populist vote, that it pompously (yet wrongly) believed would concur with its own.


Intersecting the three panels, and dividing the triptych in a ratio of 52:48, are a row of sixteen dots (the referendum took place in 2016), containing images of Germany that led to the establishment of the Third Reich, in which can be seen streets littered with valueless Deutschmark, gay bars of Berlin, street fights, public burnings of degenerate books and the escalating victimisation of the Jewish population. Acting as a stark warning for 'what could become', these black and white images deliberately contrast with the colour of the rest of the triptych to symbolise the great divide that has arisen since David Cameron first called for a public vote three years ago.


Finally, running along the bottom of the three panels is the subtitle of the triptych, making reference to the ruthless ambition of politicians such as Boris Johnson and Michael Gove, who seem prepared to gain power at whatever cost, irrespective of their own opinions and beliefs, as well as the greed of the wealthy minority, for whom Brexit seeks to benefit. The 'ignorance' in the title being both their ignorance of the people they represent and the ignorance that they have manufactured regarding the details of what leaving Europe really means.