Rioters

2015
Inkjet on watercolour paper
90 x 60 centimeters

The Ronald MacDonald doll, which was designed to draw young children to the McDonalds hamburger franchise, is a powerful corporate symbol. It can be viewed as representation of a culinary wasteland where the Golden Arches dominate the skyline of busy main roads cutting through newly built suburban tracts.

In non-western countries MacDonalds seems quite alien, hence it's unsurprising that when anti-western sentiments erupt McDonalds and KFC become primary targets. It was images of rioters burning a Ronald McDonald doll and tossing KFC buckets in the sreets of Karachi which triggered this reimagining.

The interpretation turned out to take on a ritualistic appearance unlike the chaos captured by the news photos. The rioters in these images wore the traditional shalwar kameez gown but I had no interest in a literal interpretation and dressed them in gym suits and baseball caps which imparts a paramilitary look and a seriousness of intent. Their pale blue outfits are part of a carefully structured colour palette with the inane Ronald McDonald lying on his future pyre in his usual colourful livery becoming the centre of attention. The grey silent observers ringed around the action look as if they are cast from concrete while the dreary car park is lit in a dull brownish light.

Six killed in KFC arson as Karachi riots : The Guardian

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