This is the second of a series of 3 -Alice in Wonderland - paintings.
Inspired by Unsuk Chin, Alice in Wonderland, 2007 (see previous post) based on Lewis Carroll.
The central figure represents the Mad Hatter
and is after an Oscar Schlemmer Bauhaus ballet drawing. Lewis drew the Mad Hatter character as a disguised political critique of the use of mercury that induces mad hallucinations in creating nobility & gentlemen's hats. Many workers were poisoned and went mad just to make these " elegant " top hats. Despite the tragic consequences of mercury use this practice wasn't abolished until the mid-1940s when mercury was needed for arm factories... !!!
