Jesus punches a Banker 2019

Jesus punches banker.

The sculpture ‘Jesus Punches a Banker’, made after the financial crises, uses a photocopy of the 14^th-century fresco ‘Expulsion of the money changers’ by Giotto di Bondone †. The fresco shows how Jesus chases the money changers out of the temple. It is so old that some of the image has faded, including the whip of Jesus, which leaves him with only a clenched fist.

Dobrowolski explains it as: “Essentially Jesus looks like he’s about to punch a banker. The building is the workshop for the ‘Men in Sheds’ project in Barnsley (An industrial city in the North of the England) where I made it. The man who turns the handle is one of the friends I made whilst on an artist’s residency there.”

Chris’ work has an intentional ‘knocked up in a garden shed’ aesthetic. Always working from personal experience often his work has a story attached. Over the years he has told these stories both as an artist, teacher and on stage as a performer. His performances translate the experience of creating and testing a theory. This in turn allows an audience to share and participate in a journey of discovery.

 ‘Jesus Punches a Banker’ is a subversive play on the traditional ‘Whirligig’- A kinetic folk art genre that has its origins in the USA.

This work is on loan from Barnsley Museums.