Painting: “Shrapnel World”

“Shrapnel World” by Leo Jahaan.
Oil on canvas, 2013.
100 cm x 100 cm.

“Shrapnel World” depicts the different types of artillery shells in use by various countries during the First World War.  These shrapnel shells are of course designed to spread the damage over an enlarged area, killing the maximum number of humans possible.  While the main image shows the internal design, the painting’s overlay shows the shell ‘in action’, while also serving as a visual metaphor for a financial chart, indicating ‘the business of war is continually profitable’.