Andy Keate
The Jekyll and Hyde Syndrome (Jerusalem), 2014
Watercolour and gouache on paper and acrylic on mdf board
91.5 x 122 cm
A reference for this work is the novella Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson first published in 1888 based on the condition of split personality now termed disassociative identity disorder. The title of Stevenson’s novella has become part of everyday language.
The image is of a young man convicted of paedophilia published in a report of his trial in the Guardian newspaper in 2013. His employment as a carer in a nursery school enabled the defendant to secretly transgress by engaging in sexual activities with young children.
The work shows two images of the same source, one of which has been reversed.
The Guardian article was found lying on the floor after I had cleaned a brush on it which prompted me to think about a possible connection between the subject: the incidental defilement of the image, which connected with the newspaper report. It brought up the question of framing and dividing which is done through choice of imagery - the framing devices in the painting and through the addition of other framings.
Stuart Brisley 2015