Consider the ‘triptych’ for a meaningful moment. In strictly etymological terms it’s derived from the Greek meaning literally ‘three-fold’, and within the context of art history it has made occasional but by no means regular appearances; and as far as recent art history is concerned, the last high profile and notable triptych was by Francis Bacon: Three Studies For a Crucifixion in 1962.

Let’s remember and reflect that triptychs were originally not intended to hang limply inside the hallowed halls and hushed rooms of art galleries but to inform the populace that there was a new consul in town and latterly in the Byzantine era to let the chattering classes know that a high-profile wedding was to take place.

This specialised format disappeared behind monastery walls only to appear in the half-remembered form of ‘illuminated manuscripts’, but as 50 short years disappeared yet again the triptych covertly embedded itself into the folds of time to reappear once again barely contained as an outpouring of the febrile and fantastical imaginings of Dutch master Hieronymus Bosch (1450-1516); in his seminal and most famous work ‘The Garden of Earthly Delights’ (1515).

”Through the Red Window”

36 x 26 Acrylic Ink and

Glitter on Canvas

The Singapore-based artist Jose Martinez (aka ‘Manx’ for his less formal and ‘deconstructed’ pieces) has created one of his very own: ‘The Singapore Diptych’, it’s ultimately, I think a noble attempt to resurrect the forms significance and power.

The Singapore Triptych (2016) comprises a central canvas: Through the Red Window, and unusually Manx has insisted that the right and left panels be considered interchangeable: ‘Black Star Gets Out of the Car’ and ‘Red Star Found Downtown’. This is such an inclusive and ground breaking idea: you get to choose how it’s displayed, to use current populist vernacular, it rolls.

The first thing to say, is that the ‘Black Star’ panel is incredibly similar to the artwork that wraps itself like a shroud to David Bowie’s final musical utterance: ‘Blackstar’.

Is this a cynical ploy to elicit a firestorm of publicity or is it just plain old happenstance and/or synchronicity? I believe that work on this project commenced in early 2015, so I think it that successfully sees off any notions of plagiarism and thus leaves us with the virtually inescapable conclusion that this is a prescient work! The Kabbalah-influenced Bowie, like this works conceptualiser and creator, seems to be working in mysterious ways.

Now that that’s all ‘boxed off’ my first impressions are that the middle panel is a ‘safe’ anchor around which the two variations on a stellar theme revolve and indeed, resonate. The centre piece also imparts a feeling of numb inertia via what appear to be ‘finger smudges’, as opposed to formal ‘brush strokes. Perhaps this is an allusion to a gridlocked city centre; or indeed the chaos of day-to-day living in a misanthropically numb and ‘modern’ city.

The colouration restricts itself to just two: red and black (white is more about the canvas as opposed to an applied layer), which implies an undercurrent of an ‘as above so below’ duality or dynamic.

Anarchists have used the black flag as a symbol of defiance and chaos at least since the early 1880’s but a definite ‘ground zero’ for this symbol is not clear. However it was definitely and defiantly adopted and bonded to anarchism during the latter half of the 19th century. Some claim it has its origin in the use of black flags by pirates, which would fit in nicely with the fact that Singapore is actually, like Japan, a network of islands and was once probably: ‘easy pickings boys!’.

Red is of course associated with blood and communism (an unholy and unfortunate ‘twinning’ as evidenced in the gulags of Russia and modern day North Korea), and because there is literally a red star contained within one of the ‘wings’ (I chose the left one– how deliciously appropriate) the temptation to see this as an allusion to Singapore’s current attempt to seek political favour with China is hard to resist.

A satisfying and bravely immersive piece then, I emailed its creator to glean a little ‘backstory’.

“Red Star Found Downtown”

36 x 36 Inches

Acrylic, Ink and Glitter on Canvas

Last month, for a month. This was my first visit in 13 years. Things have changed, some good, some bad. This is the nature of things.


When was the last time you were on Spanish soil?

If you are intrigued by Jose’s work I would encourage you to logon and browse, because for once the Affordable Art Fair initiative is actually what it says; buying and investing art should not be the sole preserve of the ‘monied’ set!