Too Cool To Lose

This series of works are based on the dust jackets of Penguin books, their authentic, rugged second-hand look realistically recreated by the artist through a method of layering paint over an original high-resolution digital photograph. The photorealistic rendering is significant in terms of the concept behind the series, such as in the case of this print where the yellow and black have an apparently worn aesthetic and even the dog-eared spine of the book is included. Miller is interested in subverting the familiarity and nostalgia evoked by the well-known Penguin book design, as well as the almost three-dimensional and used representation of the reimagined covers through using them as a context for his satirical, witty and at times controversial statements. Social satire is a core element both to this series and Miller's oeuvre as a whole and experimenting with its representation in various forms that combine text and image. He was drawn to appropriating the Penguin book format because, in his words: “the intention was to bring books to 'the people' - to cheapen the erudite and elitist stuff into looking less intimidating, so pursuits such as bridge could be mastered by anyone. Even if you didn't have a drawing-room, you could still play a mean rubber.”