'SOYEZ REALISTE, DEMANDEZ L'IMPOSSIBLE'
DomaineM
Cérilly, France
August 2016.

The title of the exhibition means 'Be Realistic, Ask for the Impossible.' It was a phrase graffitied on a wall in Paris during the 'Events' of May 1968. All the paintings I exhibited used graffiti from the period, some copying it directly, and some using it to make more formal works. I was interested in how the texts conveyed a very idealistic message. It all seems a long time ago now. I tried a somewhat experimental style, which I hoped would be more expressive and free. But they turned out rather dark and brooding, as if I couldn't believe the messages will survive into a more cynical age. I threw in a 'Paragraph-Painting' of a page from a book of Arthur Rimbaud's poems – the poem is called 'Golden Age'…..

 

 

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