When I think of cliché’s the one that springs to mind about Clive Barker’s work is “A picture is worth a thousand words’. In most cases that would be true, but in Clive Barker’s case a picture could be worth a story, a film, a novel or even a world.
The Arsonist from 1992 is one of the most talked about pieces that Barker has painted. It is a visionary form of such abstract power that entices the imagination to see his story.
There is a very serious man at the heart of this painting; you can only imagine how or why he has become The Arsonist. The flames run up the torch like stick around his body to his head. Hair becomes fire and leaps off to bring fire to the world, a world that does not understand The Arsonist.
The background swirls with a mixture of reds, blacks and green giving a sense that all has been engulfed in his flames. Maybe these flames are of retribution or pain.
The Arsonist like many of Clive Barker’s characters is a man transforming, he is leaving behind what he was, for a new future. Everything about The Arsonist is hypnotic; he is strange and beautiful, regal and powerful. Like many of the signature images created by Barker he has become an enigma.
Great commentary on this piece. I've always loved this. I would love to find a print of it but I've had no luck.
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