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Johnny Romeo, New Royal, December 2025, acrylic & oil on canvas 101cm x 101cm (40" x 40")

Change is in the air, and the beasts that once lived under man’s dominion are now rising up to crown themselves the new rulers of the concrete jungle. In New Royal Romeo taps into our inner beast as he depicts an imperial ape decked out in military regalia reminiscent of the majestic monkey overlords from Franklin J. Schaffner’s classic sci-fi blockbuster ‘Planet of the Apes’ (1968). Donning Che Guevara’s iconic red star beret, the ape is a hardened revolutionary leader with a burning mission to stand up to the powers that be and disrupt the natural order. Like the enlightened primates of Schaffner’s film, the ferocity of the neon-drenched chimp commander is tempered with a distinguished air of determination and defiance. Gazing at the audience with a piercing stare, there is a regal intensity to the ape figure as he ‘Shape Shifts’ from a mere ‘Ape’ into a commanding royal of the New World, channeling the steadfast leadership and firebrand idealism that made Che Guevara a poster child for generations of activists and freedom fighters. With victory at his fingertips, Romeo’s Technicolor simian sovereign is aware that his rise to the throne cannot be won through brute force alone, but rather a royal appeal that he must use to ‘shift’ the hearts and minds of animals and humans alike. More than just your average beast, Romeo’s New Royal is a savage intellectual ready to take his rightful place as the New King of the World.