Make Lemonade

You might have to look twice. Is it a photo or a painting? Not only is this painting by Joe Bloom cleverly painted, it also belongs to ‘magical realism’. It transports you to another world. At the same time, you are completely free in how you interpret the work. What is the story of this work for you? Who are the figures, and what is the meaning of the lemons?

According to Joe Bloom, this work gives us a glimpse into a memory. He does not want to tell you too much about the exact memory: he captures the melancholic, romantic feeling of it. We see a figure dreaming away to the memory of a couple. We do not know who the figures are, and what their relationship is to each other. Nor whether the figure is part of this couple.

… make lemonade. The latter is the title of this work. Make Lemonade. This English proverb stimulates optimism in times of adversity. It was first recorded in 1909 by American writer Elbert Hubbard. Over the years, different variations have emerged. Such as: when life gives you lemons, add tequila and salt. What would you do with a mountain of lemons?

Just like in the LAM museum, optimism helps you look at the world around you differently. Big problems suddenly become fun challenges, or opportunities for growth.

This artwork was the first in a series. You often don't know when you start that something will become a series. Bloom got a taste for it after Make Lemonade. He repeated the blurry background, and in the artworks that followed, he also concentrated on painting a light source. In this way, the theme of the series slowly formed: which moments in life and history do we capture and pay attention to, and which moments do we let pass us by? Joe Bloom says: ‘what you choose to remember and commemorate says a lot about a culture, or about you as a person.’

On Instagram, Joe Bloom runs the successful account: A view from a bridge. There he interviews apparent passers-by about major life questions. In monologues, they talk about life while standing on a bridge, while being filmed from a distance. It started in London, and Joe now travels the world with it.

Joe Bloom (London, 1995) is a British artist who lives and works in London, England. He received his bachelor’s degree in painting and printmaking from the Glasgow School of Art in Scotland. From painting to film, Joe Bloom feels at home in many media. His works question social rules and societal norms.