30” x 30” Acrylic Paint and Gouache on Round Wood Canvas, Mounted and Framed, 2022

Two Protagonists

The body of work by Jamie Clyde takes shape with two main characters. Humans and animals inauspiciously find themselves staged as actors performing an entertaining match of survival, struggle, and chaos. Fabricated for the amusement of The Gods, the story of man vs. man and man vs. his dinner is an allegory narrating the human drama within ourselves, collectively, and with nature. The mutual tensions we create as we wrestle within American society and the world, compose a scene gleefully ravaged by the onlookers in the front row. Looking to the heavens for respite won't work here, as the story's inhabitants are at the disposal of pleasure and intrigue. In this place, feelings of frustration and despair are all one possesses; there is no relief.

Two Protagonists is a tale used as an instrument for the artist to contend with sadness and suffering and responds to the seed idea of Artistic Director & Choreographer Charlotte Boye-Christensen. Charlotte described wanting to create something of a battle, reflecting the challenges of our times, and her feeling when facing American and Global politics that present existential threats to our homes, the planet, and our collective rights to choice, life, and the well-being of children.

The body of work was in collaboration with Now-ID, a contemporary dance company, and was exhibited in 2022.