SPOKEN STATE - United Kingdom
Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat
Winston Churchill · 1940
THE WORK
Acrylic on Dibond · 915 × 548 mm (3:5 ratio)
Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat, 1940
Winston Churchill of Commons, Westminster, London
Process
Each Spoken State work begins with the speech. The carefully selected text is counted , mapped and transcribed to the flag's geometry—letter by letter, word by word, colour field by colour field—before a single brushstroke is made.
The Dibond is sized to the width of McGinty's 30-year-old T-Square. The surface is sanded, primed with 4 coats of gesso, finished with 2 coats of Titanium White.
Using the ebony edged T-Square and yellow pentel pencil, the complete text is carefully mapped word by word across the three colour fields. Word size, spacing, and density are calibrated so the text reads as pure colour field at distance, resolving into language only on close approach.
Each of the Red, White and Blue elements have to be balanced
Editions & Archival Prints
To accompany the original panel, a limited edition of museum-grade archival pigment prints has been produced, scanned via Cruse high-resolution technology, signed and numbered by the artist
Archival pigment print
Edition of 96
Signed & numbered
Size: 49 cm × 32 cm
Unframed
Historical Context
The moment: Churchill's first speech as Prime Minister, May 13, 1940 — three days after Nazi Germany began its invasion of Western Europe
On May 10, 1940 — the same day Germany launched its devastating Blitzkrieg through the Low Countries — Winston Churchill replaced Neville Chamberlain as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Britain stood virtually alone against Nazi Germany.
Three days later, Churchill addressed the House of Commons for the first time as Prime Minister. His opening speech is one of the most celebrated in the English language: a blunt, unsparing statement of the scale of the crisis and an equally blunt statement of what he had to offer — nothing but blood, toil, tears, and sweat.
The speech set the tone for Churchill's entire wartime leadership: no false comfort, no evasion, absolute clarity about the stakes, and an almost mystical confidence in ultimate victory. It helped galvanise not just Parliament but, through radio broadcast, the entire British population.
The Union Jack itself carries the weight of empire and its contradictions — including the suppression of Irish, Indian, and countless other peoples. Placing Churchill's words within the flag places that complexity at the centre of the work.
Churchill — Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat (1940 recording)
Winston Churchill: The Lion’s Roar | Historical Documentary