What’s Your Poison?

“What’s Your Poison?” asks the bartender as the final bell tolls. Our femme fatale sits back to watch her plot unfold as the General’s glass is topped with the lethal elixir, her henchmen playing the part perfectly. The skull from Caravaggio’s ‘St. Jerome in his Study’ looks down on him as the grim spectre of death hangs in the air. This is his Last Order.

“As the bell tolls for the ‘Last Order’ decisions have to be made and people need to be paid. Drink up, it’s time to make your next move...”

A contemporary twist on the works of iconic Old Masters, my second series ‘Last Order’ captures an anxious mood at the bar as the night draws to a close. But beneath the whisky-soaked seduction is the story of a wicked, murderous plot based on the Old Testament story of Judith slaying Holofernes...

The legend goes that the General Holofernes threatened to destroy Judith’s home, the city of Bethulia. The lecherous General so desired the beautiful widow, Judith who took advantage of his weakness. Helped by her maidservant Abra, our heroine Judith enters his tent that night and beheads the General after he has fallen asleep in a drunken stupor.

The scene is considered to be a representation of the ‘Power of Woman’ and the origin of the femme fatale, a central motif within this series.

Judith Slaying Holofernes is a subject that inspired many Old Masters, in particular Caravaggio, whose haunting depiction is hailed as one of his greatest works. For the more astute viewer, hidden within one of the paintings of the series is a replica Caravaggio.

Equally, the series title is a play on DaVinci’s ‘Last Supper’, as our ‘General’ slings back his chalice, we wonder whether he is suspicious of the impending betrayal.