Hostile Witness
There’s nothing that replaces physically sitting with a painting. I’d always planned to show this work in person. Then in March 2020, everything stopped and stayed stopped. Over a year later I got sick of waiting. So, I’ll start here where I can write directly in my own voice about a series of paintings I began in 2019.
Painting is a long conversation. For me, it's a long conversation about the contradictions of war, humanity, and history. It's an attempt to escape and confront simultaneously, to look at what is gritty, beautiful, and ambiguous.
The title of the show comes from the legal term, "hostile witness", which is about the difficulty of telling the truth, even after seeing it directly. I’m interested in how we see the same thing differently, and how we think of ourselves as individuals and as a collective identity.
— Lad Decker
Lad Decker
Heavy Artillery TK-23-01, 2023
Oil on canvas
32 x 52 inches (81.2 x 132 cm)
Lad Decker
Helicopter Rescue HE-22-01, 2022
Oil on wood
18 x 29 inches (45.7 x 73.6 cm)
Lad Decker
Arms Race AR-21-01, 2021
Oil on canvas
32 x 52 inches (81.2 x 132 cm)
“The palm tree seems to be the most absurd of all the trees. It represents the absurd fragility of human dreams and hopes for extreme accomplishment. The fire palm is the dream burning into ash.”
Lad Decker
Fire Palms FP-21-01, 2021
Oil on wood panel
12 x 16 inches (30.4 x 40.6 cm)
Lad Decker
Defense DF-20-01, 2020
Oil on canvas
32 x 52 inches (81.2 x 132 cm)
Lad Decker
Helicopters HE-19-06, 2019
Oil on wood panel
9 x 12 inches (22.8 x 30.4 cm)
Lad Decker
Helicopters HE-19-03, HE-19-04, 2019
Oil on wood panel
9 x 12 inches (22.8 x 30.4 cm)
“The helicopter represents our dual human nature. We can either attack or rescue, destroy or protect. We’re not just one or the other. It’s a choice.”
Lad Decker
Arms Race AR-20-01, 2020
Oil on wood panel
18 x 24 inches (45.7 x 60.9 cm)
Lad Decker
Canyon Patrol CP-22-04, 2022
Oil on wood panel
9 x 12 inches (22.8 x 30.4 cm)
Lad Decker
Arms Race AR-20-03, 2020
Oil on canvas
30 x 48 inches (76.2 x 121.9 cm)
“I’m interested in the idea of the loaded image and how one thing can embody many meanings. ”
For example, the AK-47 is the most ubiquitous of all gun images. It’s a metaphor for ubiquity itself. It's a symbol of guerilla warfare, the concept of the third world, military coups, and arms dealing. It’s about how power travels across cultures and continents.
Lad Decker
Tractor TR-20-01, 2020
Oil on wood panel
9 x 12 inches (22.8 x 30.4 cm)
Lad Decker
Ghost Ship GS-20-01, 2020
Oil on canvas
32 x 52 inches (81.2 x 132 cm)
Lad Decker
Fire Palms FP-21-03, 2021
Oil on canvas
32 x 52 inches (81.2 x 132 cm)
Lad Decker
Defense DF-19-01, 2019
Oil on canvas
28 x 44 inches (71.1 x 111.7 cm)
“All of my work is about people. Machines embody the creators who made them, amplifying aspirations, fears, and dreams. ”
Lad Decker
Helicopters HE-20-02, 2020
Oil on canvas
32 x 52 inches (81.2 x 132 cm)
Lad Decker
Brute Silence TK-20-01, 2020
Oil on canvas
32 x 52 inches (81.2 x 132 cm)
“The tanks represent perseverance and determination, especially a silent creeping persistence and yet, destroying everything in its path.”
Lad Decker
Tanks TK-20-05, 2020
Oil on wood panel
18 x 24 inches (45.7 x 60.9 cm)
Lad Decker
Holy War HW-21-01, 2021
Oil on wood panel
18 x 24 inches (45.7 x 60.9 cm)
Lad Decker
Arms Race AR-20-02, 2020
Oil on wood panel
18 x 24 inches (45.7 x 60.9 cm)
“I like the idea of the stage and placing all the elements on it. The watchtower is surveillance quietly standing over the stage and its players.”
Lad Decker
Tractor TR-19-02, 2019
Oil on canvas
32 x 52 inches (81.2 x 132 cm)
Lad Decker
After Fire Palms FP-20-01, 2020
To be continued…
The Hostile Witness project will continue. Check back for updates. Sign up on the mailing list below to be notified of upcoming talks and events. Follow along on Instagram.
Lad during lockdown on Zoom calls with Feist 2020.