Holy Smoke
Holy Smoke
Signed Print
Conor Harrington
£500-£700 VALUE (EST.)
$900-$1,250 VALUE (EST.)
$850-$1,150 VALUE (EST.)
¥4,150-¥6,000 VALUE (EST.)
€550-€800 VALUE (EST.)
$4,750-$6,500 VALUE (EST.)
¥80,000-¥110,000 VALUE (EST.)
$600-$850 VALUE (EST.)
This estimate blends recent public auction records with our own private sale data and network demand.
Screenprint, 2010
Signed Print Edition of 100
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Auction Results
| Auction Date | Auction House | Artwork | Hammer Price | Return to Seller | Buyer Paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 2023 | Tate Ward Auctions - United Kingdom | Holy Smoke - Signed Print | |||
| September 2022 | Tate Ward Auctions - United Kingdom | Holy Smoke - Signed Print | |||
| August 2020 | Tate Ward Auctions - United Kingdom | Holy Smoke - Signed Print | |||
| October 2019 | Tate Ward Auctions - United Kingdom | Holy Smoke - Signed Print | |||
| December 2018 | Chiswick Auctions - United Kingdom | Holy Smoke - Signed Print |
Meaning & Analysis
Holy Smoke (2016) by Conor Harrington is a signed screen print combining potent visual imagery with a mixture of vibrant colours and bold brushstrokes. Released in an edition of 100, the print represents the Irish artist’s need to bring his art closer to the issues that loom over modern life with its ever-evolving hierarchies of power.
Coming to the fore in this print is the looming threat of an environmental disaster signalled by a thick cloud of smoke that emerges rather unexpectedly from one of the three horn loudspeakers included in the upper left corner of the image. On the left side, a soldier carries a large flag with his two hands and, in doing so, appears to support the very loudspeakers that emit the dark vapour. In a usual Harrington’s twist, a vividly poisonous cloud of smoke is referred to in the title as holy. Through the tension between words and visual representation, the artist problematizes some of the most burning questions of global politics, including the accountability of people who wield power and their relationship to those who become subject to it. The artist commented in the context of his art: "I’m interested in systems of power and excess [...] - the excess and unrelenting desire for power and control."
