- 31
Henry Hudson
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Description
- Henry Hudson
- Plate 7, The Crack Den
- varnished plasticine on board
- 183 by 245cm.; 72 by 96 1/2 in.
- Executed in 2014.
Catalogue Note
Plate 7 in the series presents Young Sen as his inevitable downfall begins. The scene is set in a drug laboratory and crack house in some unknown part of the United States, whose owner is escaping through a window at the back. Sen is lying in Daniel’s arms, and has just been shot by a bounty hunter. Having heard of Sen’s addiction to drugs and demise, Daniel, who is pictured here as a respectable and successful doctor, has flown to find his friend and lover, only to find him in this deplorable state.
Daniel, who has so far played a slightly secondary role throughout the narrative, plays in fact a crucial role in the course of events and is in fact Hudson’s own re-imagining of Sarah Young of A Rake’s Progress, a young servant who is Tom Rakewell’s true love. Hudson appropriates here another of Hogarth’s works, the fifth plate belonging to Marriage à La Mode, which was printed in 1745. In this series of etchings, Hogarth criticised arranged marriages, which were common at the time. In the present work Sen’s marriage has failed, and his short adventure into the art world seems to have ended badly.
The Crack Den is a dark and haunting work. Medicine boxes and chemicals pile on the floor, there are food leftovers and a baby who no one is looking after has accidentally tipped a can of alcohol over and caused a fire. The bright colours of the medicine and food packaging – imagery that has been used by artists since the 1960s and Pop Art – contrast starkly with the dark palette used for the dilapidated, shabby room. On the upper right, a poster from Barack Obama’s now emblematic presidential campaign from 2008 can be partially seen behind some tangled pipes, the first two letters of the message ‘HOPE’ barely visible. Hudson’s obscuring of this optimist message anticipates once again future events in The Rise and Fall of Young Sen, suggesting that worse episodes are yet to come.
Daniel, who has so far played a slightly secondary role throughout the narrative, plays in fact a crucial role in the course of events and is in fact Hudson’s own re-imagining of Sarah Young of A Rake’s Progress, a young servant who is Tom Rakewell’s true love. Hudson appropriates here another of Hogarth’s works, the fifth plate belonging to Marriage à La Mode, which was printed in 1745. In this series of etchings, Hogarth criticised arranged marriages, which were common at the time. In the present work Sen’s marriage has failed, and his short adventure into the art world seems to have ended badly.
The Crack Den is a dark and haunting work. Medicine boxes and chemicals pile on the floor, there are food leftovers and a baby who no one is looking after has accidentally tipped a can of alcohol over and caused a fire. The bright colours of the medicine and food packaging – imagery that has been used by artists since the 1960s and Pop Art – contrast starkly with the dark palette used for the dilapidated, shabby room. On the upper right, a poster from Barack Obama’s now emblematic presidential campaign from 2008 can be partially seen behind some tangled pipes, the first two letters of the message ‘HOPE’ barely visible. Hudson’s obscuring of this optimist message anticipates once again future events in The Rise and Fall of Young Sen, suggesting that worse episodes are yet to come.