Pressing Matters

Medium: Acrylic on canvas | Dimensions: 30cm x 40cm 

It started with a photo of a keyboard peeking out from the corner of a desk like it was shy. The keys were strangely coloured, too cheerful for  something that lives in the world of money and markets. I ran a google search on the image, it took me to an article about “Bloomberg Keyboards”. 

I didn’t know that the keyboard had history, or that there was a version from 1983 called the Chiclet, or that it had played a quiet supporting role in some of the most important financial decisions of the past few decades.

I painted them, The Chiclet from ’83 above, the sleeker, newer version below. I don’t think it’s a painting about finance. Or even really about keyboards. It’s simply a visual timestamp, like a before and after for the tools of capitalism.

Status: Sold — private collection (finance professional, London).