During lockdown I tried to imagine situations where human beings find themselves coping with severe isolation. The scenarios that came to mind were submarine crews, polar explorers, astronauts, prisoners etc and in all of these I imagine moments of quiet ritual. Playing cards sprang to mind. Something tangible and tactile, versatile and playful seemed like the ideal surface on which to paint a large series. Working on such a restricted scale reflected the reduced parameters we were all functioning in. The paintings are commissioned pieces individually based on the theme of taboo. I liked the idea of documenting deviant escapist thoughts. Some of the images are explicit and some ambiguous but all relate to particular private fantasies of the people who commissioned them. I had no idea how long lockdown last so I committed to painting the full deck.