Artist Statement: Autocracy Incorporated.

Autocracy Incorporated. is a direct hit on the modern cult of personality. By framing Elon Musk, Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong Un as board members of the same destructive "corporation," I’m stripping away the myth-making to show the raw machinery of ego, greed, and ruthless self-interest underneath. Autocracy Incorporated is a refusal to look away from the "vanity and murder" hiding in plain sight. It is a direct confrontation with the faces of modern exploitation, forcing the viewer to see the shareholder of greed behind the suit.

The Corporate Uniform

The series uses the identical suit and yellow tie to turn these figures into cogs in a global business of tyranny. The labels scrawled on the ties—SMUG TWAT, TWAT, MURDERER, and INTERN—act as an internal monologue made public. They bypass the titles and the propaganda to name exactly what is on display: vanity and corruption.

Ironic Humour & Satire

There is a deliberate, dark irony in treating these "great leaders" and billionaires with such blunt irreverence. Labelling a nuclear-armed dictator as an "INTERN" or a tech mogul as a "SMUG TWAT" uses humour as a weapon of demystification. It’s a satirical punch that refuses to treat these men with the "dignity" or fear they demand, instead reducing their global posturing to a joke at their expense.

The Process

My painting process rejects the "polished" look of official portraiture. I use heavy, aggressive brushwork and a "radioactive" palette of synthetic oranges and yellows to create a sense of volatility. The fractured texture mirrors the subjects themselves—men whose public image is a facade, but whose reality is unstable, mottled, and eroding under the weight of their own narcissism.

Errol Fuchs