Sundae Bloody Sundae : Russian Warship

Title: ‘Sundae Bloody Sundae: Russian warship’ Size: 10,860 x 6110px ‘Sundae Bloody Sundae’ is a double entendre referencing the delicious nostalgic dessert, and Irish band U2’s classic song from their album War (Bloody Sunday being January 30, 1972, Northern Ireland, where fatefully 26 unarmed protesters were killed by British soldiers). This piece aims to capture a most memorable moment in 2022, that being the early invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces, and specifically a point of peak fear and bravery on Snake Island where the approaching Russian met Ukrainian forces. The exchange went along these lines: Russian warship: "Snake Island, I, Russian warship, repeat the offer: put down your arms and surrender, or you will be bombed. Have you understood me? Do you copy?" Ukrainian: "Russian warship, go f*ck yourself.” The banana split sundae, a symbol of childhood nostalgia, represents the Russian warship; a dessert boat with wafers for turrets, and ice creams for missiles. It’s a bright and playful piece with a more sombre message of nostalgia as a privilege, compromised childhoods, and the birth of yet more generational trauma. There’s a “sloppiness” to the melted ice cream, and softness to the cones that go to the prevailing strength of the resistance efforts, and the grit of a force facing a stronger enemy to respond: “go f*ck yourself”. ‘Sundae Bloody Sundae’ is a digital work of art, where some elements are digitally painted, and some are collaged elements from my physical paintings (real life “physical paintings”). The elements are rearranged and assembled in the digital space to create this mega-layered hi-res artwork. Bio Amanda Krantz is an international artist with studios in Honolulu, Hawaii and Melbourne, Australia. Her work stems from notions of play and nostalgia, from comfort food to events in nature that mark the transitions of seasons. Her practice is also an exploration of materials and she thinks of her multi-layered creations as organic-psychedelic in genre. Her most notable recent commissions include an 18-foot triptych for a public foyer in Miami, ten paintings for the Royal Caribbean cruise liner ‘Ovation of the Sea’, a large public artwork for the courtyard of The Ritz Carlton in Puerto Rico, as well as recent digital combination paintings for large screens in Shanghai and South Korea. Recent collaborations also include NFTs for Saatchi Arts ‘The Other Art Avatars’ and SuperRare Genesis drop. Krantz has an upcoming exhibitions Honolulu in 2023, and some recent exhibits include Design Shanghai, art fairs in Los Angeles, Sydney and Melbourne and solo shows in Australia, including ‘The Big Bonsai Painting Show’.  She has been a part of group shows worldwide including ‘Art Takes Time Square’ in New York City, and as a finalist of Premio Combat in the Museo Di Storia Naturale in Italy. She has also completed residencies in Japan, Thailand and Tasmania.