I was walking around my neighbourhood one day and came across an elderly man sitting in the street using a very old sewing machine to mend a little girl's bag. The subject of this painting is the little girl and her relationship with her "Peppa pig" bag. I was fascinated that she had this throwaway, inexpensive back-pack, but was repairing it in this manner. I found myself thinking 'Why wouldn't she just throw it away and buy a new one?'; then I started to think about that thought and how stupid and dangerous it was - especially taking into account the environmental damage of consumerist behaviours.

The old man for me represents a generation here that had to really struggle to make ends meet; reuse, repair, get every bit of value out of something. He was still using his decades old sowing machine. The young girl represents the probability that the younger generations of chinese people will take a lead role in finding new sustainable models of consumption.

I enjoyed also contrasting the rusty, industrial machine, grizzled hunched old craftsman with Peppa the Pig's gawdy, shiny, simple grin.

I originally called this 'The resurrection of Peppa', but then someone who has kids pointed out to me that it wasn't Peppa, it was George. Probably a good thing, since Peppa is almost certainly a copywrited image owned by a massive company (Disney by now?) so i've probably been saved from years of legal battles and compensation claims. Phew!