The Gilded Man
Introduction
The Gilded Man
61 cm x 50.8 cm, Giclée, Hahnemühle German Etching paper, 2025
Conquistador
50.8 cm x 61 cm , Giclée, Hahnemühle German Etching paper, 2025
The Promised Land
61 cm x 50.8 cm, Giclée, Hahnemühle German Etching paper, 2025
Absolute Truth
61 cm x 50.8 cm, Giclée, Hahnemühle German Etching paper, 2025
The Golden Door
61 cm x 50.8 cm, Giclée, Hahnemühle German Etching paper, 2025
The New Colossus
61 cm x 50.8 cm, Giclée, Hahnemühle German Etching paper, 2025
El Dorado
61 cm x 50.8 cm, Giclée, Hahnemühle German Etching paper, 2025
The Gilded Man is a series of digital prints made in late 2025. The subject of these works relates to President Donald J. Trump’s attempts to stymie the influx of migrants into the US.
The Colossus
Attributed to Francisco Goya – http://www.museodelprado.es/uploads/tx_gbobras/1a_01.jpg
I first saw a photo of this painting as a student. It was then unequivocally a work by Goya. That assertion was later challenged and it was the subject of intense debate, hence its current status as attributed. Nonetheless, I have long thought of it as a powerful work. Naturally, it is associated with the Napoleonic wars, and in particular Goya’s focus on war’s devastation and the suffering of the Spanish people. Yet, I think it touches upon universal themes, namely the abuse of power and its effects on the poor and defenceless who simply long to find safety and some measure of prosperity.
In 2017, I made two paintings that were directly influenced by The Colossus. The subject matter encompassed the rising influence of extreme right-wing politics and its corrosive effect on Brexit.
One People (left) The Boy With the Sun in His Eyes (right)
Later, between 2024 and 2025, I made a series of digital prints that touch upon widespread right-wing prejudice against those desperately attempting to cross borders in search of making a new life. I could write a treatise on this subject, which would involve the legality or otherwise by those seeking refuge. Instead, I have tried to depict this wave of migration, and the resistance to it, in pictures.
The Colossus (left), The Crossing (right)
Myth and Poetry
El Dorado was a legendary lost city of gold in what is now Columbia. Its origins can be traced to a ritual performed by the Muisca people. The new chief would be covered in gold dust, after which he would take to a raft and offer gifts of gold to a goddess who inhabited a sacred lake. The Spanish managed to misinterpret this and convince themselves that a golden land, El Dorado, was there for the taking.
This desire for gold and wealth chimes with the aspirations of the current incumbent of the White House. I was also reminded of an inscription on a plaque inside the Statue of Liberty’s pedestal.
Emma Lazarus’s sonnet, “The New Colossus,” contains these lines:
“Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
The confluence of these words, the myth of El Dorado, and Goya’s painting, was enough for me to create some new work. It also meant avoiding use of the T-word.
AI and Censorship
I have written elsewhere about my use of AI, so I am not about to regurgitate that story. Suffice to say that I wanted to use AI to create images of Trump that could be worked on in Photoshop. However, there was a problem. The word Trump in a prompt is currently banned by Midjourney. Interestingly, OPENAI does not appear to prevent its use; that may change. Nevertheless, OPENAI’s output was less than satisfactory, which is why I was forced to find a way to game Midjourney. How I did this is may be the subject of another article. However, it took a considerable time and some guile to achieve the output I required.
Conclusion
There are currently seven prints in this series. I have also begun work on a painting that connects Trump to gold and power. I expect to complete that next year. I think other paintings and prints will follow, and I will upload the results in due course.
I don’t expect to visit the US any time soon. Given the insistence of handing personal data to immigration officials when attempting to enter the US, this article could prove problematic. I saw much of the US when I was younger. I thought it was a great country. At the time Richard Nixon was president. Given the nature of current events, many now view him in a more flattering light. Such is history.