Bugs

Insects, perhaps cockroaches and ants, were not common in Young’s earlier works but in the 1990s he made numerous, nightmarish paintings featuring them. The first five paintings here depict bugs attacking and devouring humans. In one of the paintings, the figure has its arms outstretched and chained. The railroad tracks encircling this scene may refer to the Underground Railroad, a subject that Young studied.

In several paintings, monstrous, oversized insects lay waste to cities, while in others, mounted warriors with rifles and lances fight them. In the paintings insects are mounted on horses and seem to be revered by the angels and warriors surrounding them. Two other paintings portray oversized insects eating humans amidst headstones, crosses and angels.

 All works Untitled and ca. 1990-1999