Paul Ryan Yeah the boys, Wollongong boys

This painting is from a new series Yeah the boys. My son Jaya told me of a train ride a few years back from Wollongong to Kiama. A bunch of young men boarded at Dapto. For the whole duration of their journey they chanted ‘yeah the boyyyyyzzzz’.

Yeah the boys is a rallying cry for young men who maybe feel left behind in a fast-changing world. A world of #MeToo and falling employment in a city built on coal mining and steelmaking. A world of rapidly changing demographics. This is a painting about tribalism. It’s also a homage to vintage Adidas wear.

Paul Ryan, 2019