The Buzzcocks
Acrylic, Oil, and Pastel on Canvas (64x49 inches)
Created in Costa Rica 2024
Acrylic, Oil, and Pastel on Canvas (64x49 inches)
Created in Costa Rica 2024
This painting was sold during Art Basel 2024. Inspired by Everybody’s Happy Nowadays by The Buzzcocks, the work reflects the emotional upheaval of a life in transition, where punk’s raw intensity meets the surreal beauty of a new beginning. Created after the end of a long-term relationship in Chicago and a move to the Costa Rican jungle, the painting captures a moment when paradise felt both euphoric and unreal.
Drawing from Jungian psychology, the piece explores the psyche as it sheds old identities and reorganizes itself. Text, symbols, and fragmented imagery form a map-like composition that mirrors an inner journey, suggesting how the mind searches for meaning during change.
Three recurring phrases anchor the work’s central question:
“Love is an illusion; life is a dream.”
“Life is an illusion; love is the dream.”
“Is life the illusion or is love?”
“Love is an illusion; life is a dream.”
“Life is an illusion; love is the dream.”
“Is life the illusion or is love?”
Together, they reflect the tension between projection and truth, skepticism and hope. Through layered symbols and raw mark-making, The Buzzcocks presents love as both destabilizing and transformative, a force that reshapes the psyche rather than offering certainty.