Kaboom! Where did all the Animals Go?

Kaboom! Where did All the Animals Go? 2010 colour Biro drawing

This drawing contemplates what happens to wildlife inhabiting landscapes destroyed by explosive weapons during war. Flight or death, where ever the animals go, this artwork is a memorial to all creatures, the smallest to the largest, affected by war.

The drawing features a Nymphenburg white biscuit figurine titled Lying Stag, designed by August Göhring,1939, from Jane’s ceramic collection. In this drawing, the porcelain figure is transformed into a delicate piece of uranium glass, symbolising the fragility of ecosystems. The green stag also represents the Emerald City in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's The Wizard of Oz, 1939. Layered through the background is a drawing inspired by a 1930s German travel poster. Both poster and stag herald a decade that saw significant global change, culminating in WWII.

Exploring other forms of environmental destruction, in a scene of tranquillity the stag glows green, suggesting the purity of virgin forest, pre-destruction by humans. The white space beneath the stag suggests the initial desolation associated with post-war landscapes.

Also featured in the drawing is a section of a dressing table belonging to Jane's Grandmother, a representation of a print by Janet and Anne Grahame Johnstone belonging to Jane and a miniature self-portrait used in her Russian Doll drawing.

A drawing layer of a herd of deer caught in car headlights inspired by the film A Prophet 2009 Jacques Audiard, reflects the sequence in the film where a stag is run over by a car. This layer symbolises the onslaught of war.

The tapestry of symbolism within this artwork including objects belonging to Jane represent that when caught in the cross-fire of war, no living organism is exempt from destruction.