Lifting the spirits in tonic row, Laying down the law in lager lane

Taking inspiration from William Hogarth’s commentary on the Gin Act in ‘Gin Lane’ and ‘Beer Street’, ‘Laying down the Law in Lager Lane’ and ‘Lifting the Spirits in Tonic Row’ reveal that the devil drink is still responsible for all sorts of horrors in the 21st century. Crimes committed, lives destroyed, corruption and cruelty visualised amidst a wealth of word play and commentary on contemporary consumerist society. The streetscape has sub texts and the legal terms are caustically captured with ‘caught house and court house’, ‘Helpum and Stingum’ and some very shady lawyers in wigs bend the law and their victims to obscene acts. Each window is a snapshot, each fallen body a sign of troubled times.