Paint It Black

No colours anymore, I want them to turn black.

Painted at MINIMALISTIX, Bülowstraße 11, Berlin, 2024

245 x 272cm Hand-cut stencil, spray painted wall.

Here we see a bust celebrating Apollo. One of the most significant deities in the Greek pantheon, shattered to pieces with 'paint it black' spray painted across his face. Apollo's name is mentioned frequently in Greek mythology for the roles he played in the Trojan war (amongst other wars), killing all of Niobe's sons & slaying the giants. In other words he gained notable credibility from death & destruction. Paint it Black by the stones is considered by many to be written about someone's struggle with the sudden loss of a partner, others associate it with the Vietnam war. In either interpretation the character is overcome with loss & despair and as a result of death wants to paint everything black. This painting associates Apollo, the God of music & dance, with a song about death & destruction.

When Paint it Black was released it became the first song with a sitar to top the charts, elevating the psychedelic genre, from a movement heavily associated with colours, everywhere! The inclusion of spray paint in the piece is part of D!VEs attempt to elevate the paintings with intentional colours, although given the nature of the subject matter a decision was made to paint it black.