Rose Wylie

The title of this painting is a play on words that refers to both former Prime Minister Tony Blair and a character from a children’s book. Blair launched a campaign against childhood obesity. His motivation was a petition from celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, who advocated for better quality food at English schools.

“The Fat Controller” is also the name of the railway director in the children’s book series Thomas the Tank Engine. This character’s silhouette is characterized by a round upper body and the wide brim of his top hat. Tony Blair is shown as the “Fat Controller” twice: once at the bottom left, with his back to the viewer, and again at the upper right, peering out from a framed picture. Wylie heightens the ironic tone by grouping them with desserts, the stated enemies of the campaign.

The four canvases are surrounded by a painted frame and thus form separate panels, as in a comic strip. They are, nevertheless, related to one another. The desserts and the figures lie on opposite diagonals, so that these axes dominate the composition.