The Capital Vices

Series of seven: Vainglory, Envy, Wrath, Sloth, Cupidity, Gluttony, and Lust.
Watercolor on paper. 2011. Each is 24” x 36”.

Browsing through items on a well-known shopping website, I was struck by the evocative and convoluted titles given to products promising customers a better life. Collecting dozens of these names, I saw how many of the items also appealed to our worst instincts: vanity, laziness, obsession with celebrity among them. It was only a tiny step from there to categorize these products into the Seven Deadly Sins, also known as the Capital Vices. Text hand-painted by me in watercolor, the color schemes reflecting the emotional feeling of each vice.