Don’t Wine About It

Don’t Wine About It is a 40″ x 63″ original mixed media work by The Connor Brothers, presented as a meticulously painted shelf of vintage Penguin-style paperbacks. Each spine carries a witty, alcohol-themed title, blending wordplay with social observation: I Drink Therefore I Can, Not Drunk Just Tipys, If You Haven’t Got Anything Nice to Say Come Sip Next to Me, and Absinthe Makes the Heart Grow Fonder. The humour is light, but the subtext is not – the piece reflects on the rituals, excuses and camaraderie built around drinking culture, turning a bookshelf into a portrait of collective habits and private indulgences.

A palette of soft greens and creams creates the illusion of sun-faded covers, while the familiar marching penguins shrink and grow across the lower edge like a visual punchline. The faux-worn surface, complete with scuffed edges and creased paper, underscores The Connor Brothers’ fascination with artifice – reminding us that nostalgia is often constructed and that every story, even printed on a spine, is an edited truth.

The Connor Brothers, the artistic duo of Mike Snelle and James Golding, are known for interrogating the boundary between reality and fiction. Their work often disguises sharp commentary beneath humour, borrowing the language of retro culture to question modern certainty. Don’t Wine About It invites viewers to laugh first, then linger on the truths we mask with jokes, habits, and the comfort of the familiar.