The Cost of the Joke

About the work

The Cost of the Joke is an oil portrait of a man maintaining an outward sense of control while struggling to hold himself together. I was interested in the idea of masculinity and the pressure men can feel to appear strong, even when they are struggling. I used the clown as a way of showing this contrast between what someone presents to other people and what they might actually be feeling. I was also thinking about the history of racist caricatures of Black people, where exaggerated faces and characters were used for entertainment. This made me think about how a person can be turned into a character or stereotype instead of being seen as an individual. I wanted the figure in the painting to feel uncomfortable and vulnerable rather than like a traditional clown. The title The Cost of the Joke refers to what can sit underneath something that appears funny, and the personal cost of having to keep performing.