Category: the surrealist (split)
In this resplendently bizarre scene, a radiant young woman with...
In this resplendently bizarre scene, a radiant young woman with pulchritudinous features, cloaked in a brilliant crimson boilersuit punctuated with dazzling yellow Wellington boots, is ensconced at a Las Vegas casino roulette table. Her garments, vividly contrasting with the monotonous black and gold table, denote a striking impression of vivacity and audacity, embodying the infectious energy of Las Vegas itself. Sharing this riotous tableau are two male mallard ducks, their iridescent green head-feathers shimmering in the casino light whilst coquettishly surveying their cards, humourously out-of-place yet somehow fitting into the Surrealist motif. Adding to this delightfully whimsical melange is a beguiling rhinoceros, its austere, greyish countenance and imposing horn sitting at odds with the ornate table and gaudy, chaotic cacophony that is the casino floor. An imposing monitor screen suspended overhead beams out a broadcast from CNN, the bold, undulating text running along the bottom of the screen announces the staggering news: Donald Trump has surged to victory for a third term in a momentous general election, the broadcast standing out in stark, foreboding contrast to the cheerily discordant scene at the roulette table. Through the casino’s soaring transparent wall, a panoramic seventh-storey vista of the famed Las Vegas Strip stretches out. The Strip, bathed in an opalescent glow from the constellation of neon signs and enormous billboards, ripples with unceasing motion. The ebb and flow of footfall upon the pavement below mimics a thousand tiny ants scurrying in a constant, perpetually shifting parade. This bird's eye perspective of the vivacious, pulsating life of Las Vegas forms a mesmerising backdrop against the whimsical antics unfolding at the roulette table. A colourful dreamscape embedded in the reality of the world, this surreal extravaganza perfectly captures the nebulous line dividing the bizarre and the quotidian, stretched to its most entertaining extreme.