11" x 14" Acrylic painting on Birch Panel.

"Solvent Crime is an acrylic painting by artist Wade Benedict based on a widely circulated mug shot pulled from the depths of internet lore. The culpret, arrested for public intoxication by way of huffing paint, is an accidental icon, one who was memed, mythologized, and ultimately reduced to a punchline.

This painting returns the image to the physical world. Through dense brushwork and layered colour, the figure is re-rendered not as a meme, but as a man. The dark streaks across his mouth and nose suggest both the act and its aftermath, while his vacant expression resists any awareness of either.

In a time when images circulate faster than understanding, Solvent Crime asks how personal tragedy becomes public spectacle. It examines how difficult moments are stripped of their weight, repackaged as levity or collective cautionary tale. These images invite us to measure ourselves against the missteps of others, finding comfort not through empathy, but through comparison."

Commissioned for the cover of Mortal Dilemma XIII.
Released in 2025.
1 of 1.

@WADE.BENEDICT