This bold acrylic painting features 12 deconstructed acid-house smiley faces scattered across a vivid yellow background, as if they’ve slipped or collapsed into the frame. Their once-familiar circular forms are broken into thick black arcs and ovals, intertwining in an energetic, almost chaotic rhythm. Perched delicately atop a few of these fragmented shapes are three small bees, their presence adding a moment of stillness and life amid the disorder.

This is a much larger version of a painting I did during the 2021 lockdown, the piece captures a palpable sense of uncertainty. The disassembled smiley faces evoke a feeling of something once whole now destabilized, their joyful symbolism disrupted. The bees, meanwhile, bring a quiet resilience—tiny observers navigating a world that has momentarily fallen apart.

The result is a balance of tension and hope: a visual diary of a time when even the brightest symbols felt unsettled, yet life, movement, and possibility persisted. Still smiling amongst the chaos...'Keep Smiling'

Acrylic, Spray and Airbrushon on wooden panel, with aluminium support frame - 135cm x 90cm

With custom painted frame - 141cm x 98cm