Guy Hepner Gallery

Sebastian Magnani Daily Bat – Big Brother Is Watching You For Sale

Sebastian Magnani
Sebastian Magnani - Daily Bat – Big Brother Is Watching You, 2020, C-Print

Daily Bat – Big Brother Is Watching You, 2020

C-Print

19 3/4 x 27 1/2 in 50 x 70 cm

Edition

Edition of 7

About this work

Daily Bat: Big Brother Is Watching You (2020) is a C-Print measuring 19 3/4 x 27 1/2 inches (50 x 70 cm), produced in a limited edition of 7 by Sebastian Magnani. Among the most conceptually layered works in the Daily Bat series, this image fuses two of the most potent symbols in twentieth-century popular and political culture: Batman, the costumed vigilante hero of DC Comics mythology, and Big Brother, the all-seeing authoritarian entity of George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four. The conjunction of these two figures, one fictional protector and one fictional oppressor, raises questions about the nature of surveillance, heroism, and power that are urgently contemporary. In a cultural moment of widespread debate about digital surveillance, civil liberties, and the use of technology in policing and security, Magnani's image of Batman positioned within the visual vocabulary of Orwellian control acquires a pointed satirical edge that extends well beyond its surface comedy. Magnani's approach throughout the Daily Bat series is consistently both humorous and thoughtful, finding in the familiar figure of Batman an endlessly flexible vehicle for cultural commentary. Big Brother Is Watching You is one of the series' sharpest and most resonant works, combining the series' characteristic deadpan visual comedy with a specifically political dimension that gives it a depth and topicality distinguishing it within the body of work. In an edition of 7, it is among the most exclusive prints in the series.

Price on Application

Edition & Provenance

Year
2020
Medium
C-Print
Edition
Edition of 7

More from this series

Related Reading

More series by Sebastian Magnani

Daily Bat – Big Brother Is Watching You

About Sebastian Magnani

Sebastian Magnani is a Swiss photographer based in Zurich, born in a small village in Canton Valais. He discovered photography during an apprenticeship in media design in 2006 and spent the following five years working as a graphic designer and art director at an advertising agency before transitioning to photography full time in 2011.

Magnani is known for richly colored, intimately staged portraits that combine strong lighting with a cinematic sense of mood. His most recognized body of work reimagines a well known superhero character in quiet, everyday moments, unexpected downtime away from heroics, using contrast between the character's familiar presence and ordinary settings to explore themes of vulnerability, solitude, and the small pleasures of daily life. His background in advertising and design continues to shape the polish and precision of his compositions.

Magnani has collaborated with major international clients, including The New York Times, IWC Schaffhausen, and Apple, and his work has been exhibited across the United States, Australia, and Europe. He has also published photography books and received multiple international awards for his projects.

Guy Hepner works with collectors seeking Sebastian Magnani's vivid, narrative driven photography. Contact us to discuss available inventory or to inquire about upcoming releases.

View all works →