Steve Warburton - 'Alternative Facts'

Wednesday 15 May - Sunday 9 June 2019

These current works are born from a series produced between 2005 - 2007 - the mainstay being oversized machinery parts. Warburton’s desire to give these large machines a human aspect led him to replace them with monumental heads and figurative sculptural elements. He felt this would make it easier to express emotion and portray the narrative.

As parts of society are becoming increasingly progressive, the position of monuments have come into question. Their initial purpose was to be a symbol of victors. Recently, they have been removed, toppled and even partially destroyed by demonstrators who have opposing opinions to what they stand for. Over time, society’s need for monuments providing a link to a battle, war or political belief may alter, thus bringing the monument’s position into question.

In the paintings, the signs represent the shock and simplicity of the hashtag trend. The use of the white lines in these works is isolationist, a device to separate certain objects or people from reality - an alternative fact.