This portrait was conceived and painted between 2020 -2023 a time of both great social and economic changes and stasis. The Covid Pandemic, the crisis in the NHS and the cost of living crisis coupled with the deterioration of my Father’s health which eventually left him bed bound for the last 18 months of his life all had an impact on this portrait. Clapping for heroes, food shaming and food banks. Levelling up and trickling down. The deposing/removal of heads of institutions. The format of the Self Portrait/Still Life recalls a painted “gisant” or tomb effigy but also a supermarket checkout conveyor belt and the hospital bed my father was confined to. Restriction, confinement, aspiration, care. Life, death, work and shopping