Matt D McCarthy

The inspiration for this work came from re-reading Quentin Crisp’s autobiography ‘The Naked Civil Servant’, in which he states that an idealised ‘Great Dark Man’ does not exist. The wise, kind, brave and chivalrous ‘knight in shining armour’ is an unrealistic ideal of masculinity.The idea of knights and armour appealed to me on several levels. Firstly, the knight as an icon of masculine bravery, a heroic figure. Secondly, the idea of armour as a shell, a protective barrier to who we are, but also as an advertisement of personal status. Beneath any armour is a fallible, vulnerable person. Read the rest of this entry »

A simple idea, but it appealed to me, reminiscent to me of Grant Wood’s ‘American Gothic’ .

Jimi Hendrix was an innovative musician and performer who had a profound influence on the music scene in the late 60′s. His reputation soon spread, and the rock elite, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, The Stones and Beatles amongst others, all flocked to see him perform in the London clubs and theatres. Hendrix was of mixed black and Cherokee Indian descent, an enigmatic, exotic figure whose musical origins were firmly rooted in the American blues tradition. For the young white musicians, he was the ‘real thing’. 

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Knights Errant – Hysterical Romance series, two of six figures.’Narcissus’ adapted to standing posture. Both 160×60 cm.

Wadded textile, Canford card and wire on a wooden armature.

Simple graphic variations on a theme, effectively ‘Photoshop’ collages  created to help me move things around in order to realise composition, colour gamuts and so on. I find ‘Photoshop’  an invaluable tool for collage and composition, especially when working with assemblages containing objects. Moving and layering things in the ‘real world’ can be time consuming and extremely frustrating.

This is still a work in progress, mainly due to financial constraints. It is based on the eponymous song title from the  ’Bonzo Dog Band’s’  album, ‘The Doughnut in Granny’s Greenhouse’.

The finished assemblage will be my peculiar visualisation of suburban living; sometimes it looks like heaven, at other times, hell.

Knights Errant – Hysterical Romance series, one of six figures. 160×60 cm

Wadded textile, Canford card and wire on a wooden armature.

Balsa wood, mahogany stain, acrylic paint, grain-filler, wire, jack socket and spray paint.

Knights Errant – Hysterical Romance series, one of six figures. 160×60 cm.
Wadded textile, Canford card and wire on a wooden armature. 

Knights Errant – Hysterical Romance series, one of six figures. 160×60 cm.
Wadded textile, Canford card and wire on a wooden armature.