‘Harold, the Ghost of Lost Futures’ is a massive collage on display outside the National Galleries of Scotland Modern Art 2 as part of their ‘Cut and Paste / 400 Years of Collage’ exhibition. Featuring work by Picasso, Matisse, Warhol, Peter Blake, Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths, Jamie Reid, Louise Nevelson, Joe Orton and Kenneth Halliwell, Terry Gilliam . . and Christopher Spencer aka Cold War Steve!
“It is a huge honour to have my work displayed at one of my favourite galleries, in one of my favourite cities. To be exhibited alongside (sort of – I’m just outside the entrance) such luminaries as Peter Blake, Jamie Reid and Louise Nevelson is frankly mind blowing. For this composition, I wanted to move away from my usual Brexit dystopian hellscapes, to produce something visually and spiritually uplifting.
I was inspired by Martin Creed’s neon ‘Everything Is Going to Be Alright’ installation, which is blazoned across the gallery’s frieze. Martin Creed almost certainly wasn’t implying that everything is actually going to be alright, but I thought that even in the depths of despair, it is somewhat comforting to remember that a large part of Britain is still wonderfully diverse, compassionate and inspirational. This enormous collage is a celebration of Britain’s diverse, creative magnificence and two fingers up to the fascists, liars and snake oil salesmen.” CWS
You can see ‘Harold’ in the NGS Modern 2 until Oct 27