'Sad Robot'
Attributed to 'Tasha', 2014. Lane beside Turquoise Takeaway.
The Sad Robot is a masterpiece of expressive art of the very highest calibre. From the exquisite shading, to the highest attention to detail (one can almost imagine the robot's nipples glinting in the morning sunlight), to the profound message the artwork intends to convey – this piece is well worth a sojourn down to Bodmin's finest kebab house.
The image of the sad robot here represents the everyday urban struggle – the daily grind which dehumanises the individual and transforms him into a joyless robotic worker. The loss of the robot's carefree, childlike state through poverty is lamented through the phrase 'great init' which is also a pun on why the robot is unable to speak up against his oppression – his mouth is literally a grate – 'great init'. The environment has cleverly been utilised as a canvas, and the robot (as the working individual) now completely relies upon it for his existence.
The irony of the statement 'work-to-live, not live-to-work' is examined here – while we are forced through poverty to toil away in offices and cafés, we are not enjoying life on a more meaningful, fulfilling level. In order to live, we are forced to survive in ways which we do not really enjoy at all. The Sad Robot encourages us to imagine enlightenment through art - begging us to ask 'Is there not more to life than this?'
This spectacular and thought-provoking piece is currently still on display.
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