In the late Middle Ages when meat was scarce, it was not uncommon for unscrupulous butchers to replace pork with the meat of other, less desirable animals like cats and dogs. Unsuspecting customers would eventually discover they had been fooled. The idiom Pigs in a Poke was born out of this exchange. When expanded, this phrase can refer to accepting an idea or a plan without fully understanding all of the details and ramifications.



Pigs in a Poque I
ink on polyester film, 60" x 40"





detail



Pigs in a Poke is appropriate when used a metaphor for the current U.S. administration that peddles promises that it cannot deliver. The joke is on the American people who will suffer at the hands of such irresponsible leadership. The joke is on the global communities that are directly impacted by misguided U.S. policies.


Pigs in a Poque II
ink on polyester film, 60" x 40"





Saam Moo
ink on polyester film, 40" x 60"






Running Mates
ink on polyester film, 40" x 60"



Our president is the butcher, schlepping bags of fiction, selling them a truth. Meanwhile he is compromising the fabric of the constitution in order to advance a personal agenda that places his wellbeing ahead of the people he represents. Those who voted for our current president did not fully inspect the product before handing him and his surrogates the keys to the most powerful nation in the world. The cat is out of the bag.



Lipstick on a Pig
ink on polyester film, 40" x 40"
(sold)





Sweetbread Braid
ink on polyester film, 60" x 40"





Tread Lightly
ink on polyester film, 60" x 40"





FDA Approved I
ink on polyester film, 30" x 36"



FDA Approved II
ink on polyester film, 30" x 36"

David Burke •
Oakland • California   ︎ 
Running on Cargo