Painting the Town Red
1996
17 x 29.3cm (6.7 x 11.5in)
Poster colour, gouache and gold dust on mountboard
Artist: Amrit K.D.Kaur Singh

This work combines what are generally recognised as two important hallmarks of popular Liverpool culture - the 'Tall Ships Festival' on the River Mersey, and football (represented here by the imaginary, victorious homecoming of the Liverpool Team). These lively events are set against the impressive, unmistakable, back drop of the Liverpool cityscape, with its Anglican and Roman Catholic Cathedrals, Albert Docks, and 'mushroom' tower. The fireworks, balloons, decorative ship sails and stylised swirling wave patterns of the Mersey, all add to the overall celebratory atmosphere created by the artist's liberal use of vibrant colour which is dominated by the bright red, so characteristic of the Liverpool strip.

Amongst the festive crowds we are presented with a whole range of characters and stereotypes who lend humour to the content. There is the bare-chested, clean shaven football 'hooligan' (complete with union jack shorts and mug of beer); the long suffering football fan's wife, staring with boredom into the river; the bystander who, unable to resist his chance for a second of fame, spoils the BBC's coverage of the event by shoving a 'hello mum' sign in front of the camera; and the line up of crowd control police whose rather stern expressions, pink skin colouring and other 'pig like' features, reflect one of the more negative images by which they are portrayed.

The painting was commissioned for 'England's Glory', an exhibition on the theme of football which showed at London's 'Cork Street Gallery' to coincide with 'Euro 96'. In this context, it might, on first sight, be seen to depict just another expression of the "British obsession with the game". However, "the Afro Caribbean, Chinese and Asian presence in the crowd places specific emphasis on the multicultural dimension which this 'great British invention' and symbol of Britain's national cultural heritage has acquired over more recent decades". The painting is, therefore, more concerned with the issue of minority identity within a wider British context than it is about the game of football itself. In particular, it seeks to challenge the usual images of cultural confusion generally projected by the mass media, which present young Asians with the dilemma of having to choose one culture over the other. In this respect one of the main focuses of 'Painting The Town Red' is the Sikh family depicted top, right. Representing the artist's aunt, uncle and two young cousins, their own religious and cultural loyalty is firmly indicated by certain items of traditional dress worn by them (notably the turban and sari). However, they are, nevertheless, shown participating fully. The boy especially is obviously the keenest fan, with his football kit and rattle! The notion presented by the artist here is that "second generation Asians should not feel that they have to choose between cultures. It is possible to achieve a cultural harmony in which they can participate freely in the predominant, wider, culture without losing sight of their own ethnic identity". Conversely, the advert for a popular Asian cable T.V. channel pasted on the back window of the London Double Decker bus, another popular symbol of 'British' identity, and the presence of the Asian sound man amongst the once 'thoroughly British' BBC film crew, are a reminder of the impact that ethnic groups have had on the shaping and enriching of British society. This is a society where the artist observes traditional definitions of Britishness becoming increasingly 'blurred' by the very processes of cultural fusion which have occurred as a result of the multicultural phenomenon.

 

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