The Executioner's Song by Norman Mailer

This quasi-documentary account of the life and death of Gary Gilmore is possibly his masterpiece. ...more info on wikipedia

About the artist: Marc Blazelfrom the UK

Marc Blazel is an illustrator and blog-meister from London, England. In 2011 he helped found the website UndercoverRobot.com which aims to be an invaluable resource for creative people who love discovering new talent, getting tips from established artists and even showcasing their own work. In the hopefully near future they will be moving into the physical world with plans for apparel, prints and gallery shows. Still a student, he is about to start an illustration course at Central St Martins. When not doing any of that he spends his time playing ukulele, listening to French pop and eating lots of Mexican food.

Why this work

“After watching Werner Herzog’s recent documentary ‘Into the Abyss’ I became very interested in the issues surrounding the death penalty in the United States. The Executioner’s song deals with many of the same issues while telling the story of Gary Gilmore, a man who refused to fight his execution. I wanted to show that this final act of defiance was a way for Gilmore to take control of his life after years of incarceration. While clearly troubled and guilty, he comes across rather brave in the final parts of the book, confronting the government by wanting to die how he lived, by the gun. Using the colours of the star spangled banner my piece acts as a comment on both capital punishment and American law, showing the hypocrisy that continues to exist in the ‘land of the free’”.