The canvas of power
- 5 hours ago
- 5 min read
Understanding British politics through the paintings of satirist Kaya Mar
For anyone who came from another place, politics in London can feel overwhelming. Newspapers shout from tube stands, television panels fill with suited commentators arguing, and everyone seems certain about which side they are on. It is loud and confusing. This is a city where everything seems to happen at once – local gossip colliding with global politics.
For satirist Kaya Mar, the method is simple: stop listening to the noise and look for who is pulling the strings. Inside his studio, bright colours and distorted figures cover the walls, offering a grotesque yet clarifying guide to power in Britain.
Who is Kaya Mar?
Now in his late 60s, Kaya was born to refugee parents and raised across multiple countries. He has long observed societies from the outside rather than fully belonging to any one of them. That distance shapes his perspective.
Inspired by his friend, the British politician Tony Benn, Kaya has worked as a political satirist for over 20 years. He treats politics less as a belief and more as a stage performance to be watched and understood.
“First, you have to make people smile,” he says, “then, you make them think”.
His paintings do not simply mock politicians; they examine how power operates in Britain. Through recurring symbols and metaphors, he sketches three central mechanisms in the country’s political theatre.
The mechanism of unity: The Royals
To many newcomers, Britain’s fascination with the Royal Family can resemble a modern fairy tale. Kaya describes it more cautiously, as a shared national story that holds people’s attention in a politically divided society.
In this painting, the Royal family appears as a modern-day holy family. The Princess of Wales is seated on a donkey, holding the newborn like a sacred figure, a halo painted behind her head. Prince William leads the procession, while the young Prince George and Princess Charlotte follow. The composition deliberately echoes religious iconography, but the setting remains unmistakably modern.
Recalling the media frenzy around royal births, Kaya says: “God, England, television. First news, second news, third news, page to page”. What were they waiting for? The baby. It was like waiting for Jesus to be born”. He points to the painted crowd watching the procession and notes: “The rest is you”.
The comparison is not literal. Instead, it reflects the intensity and repetition of coverage. When a single event dominates headlines and screens, it becomes more than news, it becomes a shared national focus. In his view, such moments act as a kind of emotional glue. The suggestion is that national stories are staged, repeated, and emotionally received, especially in a media environment where attention itself becomes a form of power.
The act of framing: The media
If royal spectacle helps sustain unity, who then shapes the political agenda? Kaya’s second painting turns to the role of the media in setting the frame for understanding politics.
The canvas shows a wooden cart overflowing with naked politicians and media moguls, including former Prime Ministers such as Tony Blair and David Cameron, all piled on top of one another. Tucked in the chaos is a police helmet and, watching over them from the back, a recognisable media tycoon. Standing apart is a judge holding a broom, looking at the mess he is meant to clean.
This figure represents the Leveson Inquiry, the investigation into the phone-hacking scandal, where tabloids hacked the phones of people rangingfrom royalty to victims of crime. “Police, politicians and media, they are all in one place. They are all in the same bag,” Kaya notes.
This visual metaphor challenges the idea of independence. In theory, the press monitors those in power. In practice, Kaya implies, they are all riding in the same cart. He points to the figures jumbled together: “Instead of being neutral, he will decide. Make him, or him. He chooses who becomes Prime Minister”.
For an outsider, the insight is subtle but important: media outlets do not just report on the political class; they are often indistinguishable from it.
The false hope: Brexit
The final concern is why large groups of people choose to follow particular political directions. In his Brexit series, Kaya explores the emotional pull of promises.
In the painting, two specific figures sit in a cart labelled ‘BREXIT’: Nigel Farage holding the flag, and Boris Johnson holding the reins. They are painted naked, stripped of their suits and authority, and the donkey in front is blindfolded.
“Nakedness means you don’t have any substance.it is a lie,” Kaya explains. But the most striking element is the donkey pulling them. It is blindfolded, trudging towards a cliff edge.
“I paint people as donkeys. Not because they are stupid, but because they are patient and stubborn. You just show them a carrotand you can take them anywhere,” he adds.
The blindfold represents trust. The public moves forward not because they see the destination, but because they trust the hand holding the reins. The contrast highlights the tension between aspiration and consequence: the hope that motivates the journey and the cliff edge that awaits.
Studying the stage
For those attempting to make sense of British politics, Kaya’s interpretation suggests that emotion and narrative often drive decisions. Hope, when carefully framed by charismatic leaders, can guide collective choices, sometimes towards uncertain destinations.
Stepping out of Kaya’s studio, the city’s noise feels slightly easier to tune out. The news on the street corner seems a little less alarming; the shouting politicians seem a little more ridiculous.
Kaya does not claim to provide final answers. Instead, he offers a way of looking. By exaggerating symbols – halos, naked politicians, and patient donkeys – he encourages viewers to pause and ask who is directing attention and where the story might be leading.
Before rushing to pick a side in Britain’s confusing political theatre, Kaya’s work seems to say, it may be worth first studying the stage.
The cast and context
Everything you need to know to understand the paintings
The Leveson Inquiry (2011–2012)
A judicial public inquiry into the culture, practices, and ethics of the British press following the phone-hacking scandal. It exposed close and sometimes problematic relationships between politicians, police, and media organisations.
Phone-Hacking Scandal
A major media controversy in which journalists at the News of the World were found to have illegally accessed voicemail messages belonging to celebrities, politicians, and crime victims. The scandal led to the closure of the 168-year-old newspaper in 2011 and triggered widespread debate on press regulation.
Tony Blair
Labour Prime Minister from 1997 to 2007. He rebranded the party as “New Labour,” positioning it closer to the political centre.
David Cameron
Conservative Prime Minister from 2010 to 2016. He called the 2016 referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union, a vote that ultimately led to Brexit.
Nigel Farage
A leading figure in the Brexit movement, former leader of UKIP, and current leader of Reform UK, known for his populist and Eurosceptic political stance.
Boris Johnson
Conservative Prime Minister from 2019 to 2022. He was a prominent figure in the Vote Leave campaign during the 2016 Brexit referendum.