I'm pretty cranky today, what with the whole having to be at work combined with general holiday malaise. So my cold-hearted self is taking much pleasure in the off-kilter reinterpretations of Santa that a group of artists, musicians and comedians recently created at the Guardian's request and that have been posted in a gallery here. Laura Barnett talked to the participants about their takes, including Gillian Wearing (pictured right):
When I was asked to make a Santa, I immediately thought of Andrew
Mondia, the Santa who was sacked in November from Selfridges [for
asking a woman to sit on his lap]. These kind of stories immediately
bring a cartoon vision of events to mind. I wanted to create a
seaside-type postcard image to illustrate the demise of Santa - Andrew
being strangled by [model] Alena's tinsel. As we are in the throes of
what could be one of the worst financial moments in history, I also
think this image is the perfect credit-crunch Santa. I'm sure a lot of
people would be wanting to hold on to that tinsel.
I think my favorite might be Isy Suttie's hilarious ham Santa, with the comedian looking like she's about to take a big ol' bite out of him. The paper has also created a Flickr pool where I highly recommend posting your Santarchy pics, especially because it's looking a little sparse in there right now. Merry Christmas, y'all!