Private yet

Commentary of the picture:

Most of Alec Monopoly’s works feature comic characters related to money. In fact, the main protagonist is usually Mr. Monopoly, an image from the game Monopoly whose name the artist assumed not only as his artistie name but initially an alias, so he would not be recognised among other local graffiti artists or by the authorities who were proseeuting illegal graffiti as acts of vandalism.

In the work in the Carmen Thyssen Collection, there appear tour characters disembarking from a large yacht. In the foreground is Mr Monopoly (Uncle Pennybags), dressed in tails, bowtie and top hat, clasping a moneybag marked with the dollar symbol. He is followed by a female figure, Jessica Rabbit, the exuberant cabaret singer and wife of Roger Rabbit in the Disney film Who Framed Roger Rabbit? As the two main characters deseend the gangplank, two of the wealthiest fictional characters are standing on the foredeek, proudly and gleefully showing off their fortune – the young Riehie Rich, heir to the Rich Industries empire, holds two moneybags, and Uncle Serooge, known as the multimillionaire uncle of Donald Duek, has a moneybag in one hand and his wooden cane in the other. A private plane waits by the yacht. The chosen group of personalities, their attitude and surroundings depict the luxury and ostentation of capitalism in modern society.

To perform this work, Alec Monopoly uses spray paint, epoxy and varnish. The scene is painted on newspaper canvas made from pages in the politics, eeonomy and finance seetions of international newspapers – British newspapers such as The Times, The Daily Telegraph and The Financil Times, and French ones such as Le Monde; some of these are dated 2017, the same year that Monopoly created this work. In the bottom right comer of the work, the artist’s signatura “ALEC” jumps out, its drip-effect letters offering a nod to graffiti.

Private Yet could be linked to the Neo-Pop movement, which was very close to urban art, sharing similarities in colour and its freely-expressed message.

The theme and figures chosen by the artist derive from the start of his career as a graffiti artist in the streets, with the goal of portraying the capitalist system through elements that represent power and wealth. By depicting easily recognisable characters, the artist aims to establish a connection with the audience and foster a relationship between the work and the spectator, provoking as much of a reaction in the streets as in galleries and museums around the world.

Núria Parés