DOLE by nick-e melville

Poppy
A print of Monet’s 1873 painting Poppy Field found somewhere in Argyle House. This
type of faux-cultural print – ubiquitous in offices in recent decades – sought to indicate
a corporate appreciation of art and brighten the place up. In relation to social security it
signifies heroin and drug abuse, associated rightly or wrongly with benefit claimants, it
is also slang for money. The poppy references the Haig Fund and the commemoration
of WW1, and by extension wars in general, with many soldiers ending up in the benefit
system, or worse, once the army is done with them. The frame is deliberately askew.
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