Father 4.1 (A)
Description
Premium quality screen-print
Limited edition of 15
Dimensions
560x760mm (paper size)
Medium
4-layer screenprint on white Fabriano paper (300gsm).
Utilises the spot colour screenprinting process.
Numbered, titled, and signed by the artist in pencil.
Year
2025
Genre
Urban Art
Pop Art
Street Art
New Contemporary
Star Wars
Darth Vader
Emoji
Banksy
About this work
Continuing with his Digital Dilemma theme, in which he comments on the world’s ever-increasing digitisation, Novak again utilises Emojis to represent the ‘shortening’ of interpersonal communication.
His fascination with popular culture comes to the fore with Darth Vader caught mid pose reaching out to Luke as he tempts him to rule the galaxy ‘as father and son’.
“This, in my opinion, is the greatest twist in cinema history, Luke races to confront and kill the villain who ends up professing that he is, in fact, Luke’s father.”
-Brad Novak (2025)
In the pose, Novak also sees similarities with Shakespeare’s Hamlet. In the play, Hamlet converses with the skull of a person he once knew. The scene uses comedy to comment on larger issues regarding life and death. It hints at the vanity of life and the existential crisis we humans face. Novak leverages this imagery to highlight a clever nexus where pop culture meets fine art.