The day the crypto crashed by Nick Santoro, 2023

Transcript

The title of this artwork is The day the crypto crashed by Nick Santoro. It was made in 2023. The artwork is made of acrylic on canvas and is approximately 84 centimetres high by 104 centimetres wide. This artwork depicts a scene of chaos. There are colourful images of cartoon-like figures in a cartoon–like urban scene. 

In the background, at the top of the painting, starting on the left, are apartment complexes. In the top-middle, there is a vertical chimney stack blowing smoke across the blue sky. Towards the top-right, there is another apartment complex, as well as a blue number three painted in the sky. 

In front of the apartment buildings, going from left to right is a shipping container. To the right is a warehouse with each side painted a different colour; the left side is brown, the front is green, and the roof is yellow. On the roof, there are solar panels and satellites. In front of the warehouse, there is a red billboard with pop star Charli XCX on it. It shows the figure of Charli, as well as her name. 

Further in front of the scene and positioned across the lower portion of the work is a greyish-white coloured racing car which appears to have entered from the right side and is slightly angling down to the bottom left-hand corner. The words ‘i98 feel good’ are painted in block letters on the side of the door in reds, blues, and greys. The number plate on the front of the car reads ‘A-UST.’ In the car, there are TV screens with people on them. An orange haze of smoke surrounds the car and there are orange and red flames coming out of the back of it.  On the bonnet and around the car, there is a heap of detritus. This includes a fried egg in a fry pan, laptop, water bottle, and helmet, amongst other objects. 

There are also a variety of people surrounding the car. To the left of the car, there is a man dressed in yellow, leaning back on a chair, kicking a soccer ball. To the right of the car, there is a wizard with a long grey beard dressed in blue robes and a pointy hat. Further to the right and above, there is another wizard in red robes coming out of a portal in the fire. 

At the bottom of the painting, from left to right, there are approximately 5 people in profile dressed in colourful business attire, standing or sitting at desks and focused on laptops or computer screens in front of them while the chaotic scene plays out behind them. 

The painting is framed in a thin yellow frame with pink spiral and stripes painted over the top. 

On the Artist Profile website, writer Bridget MacLeod describes Santoro’s paintings as ‘brightly coloured, crowded scenes populated by quirky characters and disparate objects…juxtaposing the absurd with the banal, pop culture with suburbia, Santoro humorously captures elements of Australian society…’ More information can be found at the Artist Profile website. 

This artwork is on loan from Samanatha Wild for this exhibition, How to dismantle the world (and still feel good about yourself in the morning).