Clifton Stewart

 

Artists statement:

Images of conflict - real, dramatised or imagined - pervade our culture, influencing our perception of conflicts past and present. 

Whether we receive these images passively or actively engage with them, they are everywhere: from newspapers and dedicated news channels to movies, computer games and toys.

Whether informing or entertaining us, the effect is a blurring of authenticity: what have we seen? Was it real or imaginary? Who are the heroes and what, if anything, is accomplished?

The intention here is to produce a series of images about conflict that are reminiscent of something seen, an event or a film experience or a reported scene, a moment frozen in a single frame.

The initial impression is transformed by the realisation that the objects are very small toys, in a scaled-down context, lit like a shot from a film scene.

How should we read such images and how do they relate to our childhood imaginings? Indeed, are they imaginary at all anymore, or just another communication of something seen?

 

A slection of the images are currently touring as part of the 'Conflict and Loss' show, details of the next venue will be posted soon.