Daniel Augustine

The work is a re-imagining of William Hogarth's The Rake's Progress.

Following in the foot steps of other artists who have produced their own take on Hogarth's The Rake's Progress such as Yinka Shonibare, Grayson Perry, David Hockney and Jessie Brennan. The work tells the story of Dave, the masculine, aggressive male; Chelsea, the female who dreams of being a princess and attaining her prince by transforming herself into the perfect sex object but has a hidden desire for black men; and the Cock Bot, the nameless faceless object of Chelsea's desire, who is no more than something to look at. The story starts with Chelsea and Dave's bedrooms, which map out their lives from childhood to the present and how they are taught their gender and how to behave in society. It continues with the revelation of their perfect forms. Dave is later over come with masculinity and ends up in homophobic-homoerotic relations and Chelsea fulfills her desire  of being with a black male (the Cock Bot) even though it goes against everything she was taught growing up. Eventually she finds Dave and they are married. The marriage is seen from two completely different perspectives: Dave sees Chelsea as his trophy (he has one referring back to the trophies in his bedroom) and Chelsea sees Dave as her knight in shining armour; their views are made clear by the comments from their friends, each side telling a different story. The warped Big Mac burger by their feet symbolises that the marriage is built on something that is fake and unhealthy. The last print 'After Ever After' shows Dave and Chelsea's life 20 years down the line. Dave is no longer muscular but has gained weight and his aggressive nature has become vile, spewing out swear words and only caring about football. Chelsea's obsession for the Cock Bot has grown stronger than ever, but her body is no longer the perfect sexual object and her plastic surgery is now sagging, her skin is like leather and she become disgusting to look at. The work is an almost biographical account of my life growing up in Essex from the age of sixteen. The work speaks of the present day and is not in anyway nostalgic even though it references artist such as Richard Hamilton, Tim Mara, Hans Holbien, Margeret Harrison and many more iconic artists. It was important to me that people who aren't into art would understand the references placed into this work and would get its meaning through the narrative.