Snowflake's Progress — Ben Jennings

Snowflake’s Progress is a contemporary adaptation of William Hogarth’s famous 18th-century work, A Rake’s Progress, and follows a recurring character over a series of 8 artworks that offer snapshots of British life set over the 14 years of Tory rule from 2010-2024. The series of illustrations was showcased during Ben’s first solo exhibition at London’s The Coningsby Gallery in July 2024.

Unlike Hogarth’s protagonist, who inherits great wealth and squanders it all on an extravagant lifestyle that ultimately leads to his downfall, Jennings’ millennial character - ‘Snowflake’ - attempts more modest pursuits after inheriting an era of chaos and insecurity. In each image, Snowflake appears in varying prominence. One way to find them is to look for the only character wearing stripes in some form, like Where’s Wally wandering through Austerity Britain.

The Guardian’s art critic, Jonathan Jones, wrote a piece about Snowflake’s Progress describing it as a “visceral portrait of the furious misery that has just swept Conservatism away. Jennings has captured the national mood.”

Jones’ full article is available to read here: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/article/2024/jul/09/ben-jennings-interview-snowflakes-progress-hogarth-tory-britain

Limited edition, hand-signed & numbered prints of the Snowflake’s Progress works are available to buy here: https://guardianprintshop.com/collections/snowflakes-progress