Torpedoboy Versus the Worldly Forces

Trenton Doyle Hancock (b. 1974, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States) lives and works in Houston, Texas. Torpedoboy Versus the Worldly Forces depicts a 16-foot Torpedoboy, a Black superhero who has been the artist’s alter-ego since age 10. The character deals with artistic power and desire—and how to grapple with adversity. The composition resembles muscular plastic action figures and the classical Greek sculpture of Laocoon; in his work, Hancock subverts and synthesizes art historical, mythological, and pop cultural influences. In Hancock’s Plinth proposal, Torpedoboy is attacked by Vegans, the small white goblins that populate the Underworld of Hancock’s invented universe and represent extremism and oppressive behavior.