This painting was created in the second year of Furr’s fine art degree at De Montfort University. It combines cartoon elements with realistic ones using an aquarium as the setting. In its use of cartoons and brightly coloured elements with populist appeal it is reminiscent of images from Disney’s ‘Mary Poppins 1964’ and ‘Bedknobs and Broomsticks 1971‘ where 2d animated elements are incorporated with ‘live action’ footage. Furr would have seen both as a child. It is of interest in that it is one of the first instances of radical 2d linear simplified elements (cartoons) that appear in Furr’s works as features that are sometimes hidden amongst 3d representations. ‘’Idyll 1989’ Dead Student 1990’ ‘Serpentine Painting 2022’.

"I went through a period of being fascinated by aquariums and went to the local aquarium shop in Leicester to take photos and make studies. This painting was the result. .

I remember after I had painted it, I felt slightly embarrassed as it was the age of conceptual art and I had done this realistic painting of an aquarium. The conceptual artists I studied with were talking about the importance of post modernism. I thought about it and realized that the aquarium could be symbol of life and society. The aquarium after all is a contained area for life. I added the cartoon fish elements to represent different things over the realistic elements in my painting. I said the big pink fish is capitalism- The cigar in the fish’s mouth is a classic symbol of this. The yellow fish is the existentialist. " - Christian Furr