New Hope, 2024

JOHNNY ROMEO

New Hope, 2024

acrylic and oil on canvas

1010 x 1010 mm

In Johnny Romeo’s Technicolour galaxy far, far away, the fearsome hatred of the Sith is replaced by an infinitely higher power – Soul Power. Taking its name from the 1977 sci-fi classic that kickstarted the Star Wars franchise, New Hope portrays a pastel-hued Stormtrooper holding a single rose as he kindly looks at the audience. According to Star Wars lore, the first Stormtroopers were elite warriors cloned to enforce the oppressive rule of the Galactic Empire. These clones were replaced by human stormtroopers conscripted by the Empire to quash the Republic Alliance. With his latest painting, Romeo envisions a third version of the stormtrooper, an ethical soldier of reason who has abandoned the brutality of his forebears to embark upon a path of compassion and empathy. The ‘New Hope’ of the title takes on a new meaning, with Romeo transforming the word assemblage ‘Sith’ Power’ into ‘Soul Power’ to highlight the stormtrooper’s renewed sense of purpose as a soldier of reason and love who, like John and Yoko, is now dedicated to ‘giving peace a chance’. No longer drawing his strength from the dark wells of the Sith, Romeo’s New Age stormtrooper is empowered by the hopeful, upbeat funk of Soul Power. The symbol of the rose embodies the spiritual transfiguration of the stormtrooper, who honours the sacrifice of his fallen comrades by pursuing a life in service of beauty and courage. At the same time, the rose rounds off the painting with a slight sting, calling to mind the iconic confrontation of a Ukrainian lady offering sunflower seeds to Russian soldiers while reminding them that the seeds will be nourished from their decomposing corpses.