Dollars & Snakes - complete

My latest ‪painting 'Dollars & Snakes'. The painting was inspired by the American movie 'The Big Short' (2016). The film depicts a behind-the-scenes look at the 2008 American housing collapse which had a devastating effect on the economy. The film provided me with some insight over what happened during that time and ignited the idea for this painting. The painting compares this event in history with the famous board game, 'Monopoly'. The central character is a snake with a reptilian head of Rich Uncle Milburn Pennybags (the 'Monopoly Man'). The landscape is a Monopoly board with the words 'Sub-Prime Mortgage' written on the space he occupies. The lending of sub-prime mortgages was the primary catalyst for the 2008 real estate bubble collapse. On the board rests many ignited Monopoly houses representing their decreasing value. Along the board slithers the character uncaring in his disposition and clutching a stack of money earned from the misery of others. The title is a play on the phrase 'dollars and cents'.

 'Dollars & Snakes'
acrylic on wood panel
(image dimensions) 7.75"x9.75"
(including frame) 11.75"x13.25"
available