This Pop Art mirage offers an ironic escape from an uninviting desert. The sand glued to the canvas is real sand, while the island, palm tree and pond are painted representations, created in such a cartoon style that no one could possibly mistake them for reality. The island appears as though seen from above. A field of arrows rains down on this tropical plot. Arrows are tools for indicating direction, but in this case, embedded in a mirage, the arrows are part of a grand misdirection. The shadow of the tree and the mirror-shaped pond are features that mimic and reflect, creating illusions of their own.

This early work was created while Robert was a student at NSCAD. An idea circulated in art schools at this time that grew out of Marxism. This is the notion that ideology–shaped and controlled by wealthy, powerful people–persuades those without power to support systems that are blatantly unfair. The only way to be free of this misleading spell is to reveal the deception behind ideology, to unmask the operation of false consciousness. To see the mirage for what it really is–a mental projection not based on physical realities.