Continuing from his 2010 exhibition ‘You’ll Never Take Me Alive’, Romeo has produced a suit of works expanding the story of Ned Kelly as he sees the tales; from within a contemporary, urban Australian context. ‘Cop Killer’ is an exhibition comprised of 17 paintings, each of which presents the figure of Ned Kelly. However, painted in the style and aesthetic of pop-art-meets-comic-strip, the usually revered and iconic Kelly is displaced and presented as a super villain. Romeo’s paintings dispel the notion of Kelly as “a revered Australian icon” and present him as “nothing more than a cold blooded killer”, Romeo explains.
Muk Muk Fine Art
March 8 to 17, 2012
Northern Territory
Johnny Romeo, Brute Breed, 2012, acrylic and oil on canvas 101 x 101cm
Courtesy the artist and Muk Muk Fine Art, Alice Springs.
