Claydon is fascinated with overlooked moments
in history, particularly British history. Drawn to
the interface between politics and art in early
twentieth-century Europe, his paintings include
references to Vorticism and the Bauhaus,
while some of his sculptures refer explicitly to
monuments and memorials from the turn of
the last century. All of his works have a false
patina of age, as if they were relics from another
time. The strutting birds in the two paintings on
display act as metaphors for a modernist culture
that has evolved to the point of its inevitable
failure. In the print Solar Prop a rabbit bears the
sign of the Kibbo Kift Movement, a radical 1920s
alternative to the scout movement, that advocated
reconnection with the earth and spirituality
for Britain’s jaded youth. In the print Low Pixel,
(Beneath Contempt) the inverted silver image of a
sculpture by the now overlooked British sculptor
Charles Sargeant Jagger is placed within a heavy
protective modern acrylic casing – the inscribing
and subsequent protection of a version of history
are subtly alluded to in this work.
Watch an interview with the artist
enlarge
