BROOKES, 'SISYPHUS', INK AND WATERCOLOUR, 2006

197 by 273mm., pen ink and watercolour, signed and dated '8 viii 06', mounted, framed and glazed

The Times, 8 August 2006

The 2006 Lebanon War was a month long military conflict that saw the United Nations struggle to broker peace between the Hezbollah paramilitary forces and the Israel Defence Force. The UN was able to secure a ceasefire that went into effect on 14 August, a week after this cartoon was published. The myth of Sisyphus condemns the King to repeat forever the task of pushing a boulder up a mountain only for it to roll down once again. Sisyphus is aware that his task is a futile one and resigns himself to a life of endless and eternal frustration.