Legacy: A Painterly Response to WW1 by Paul Clifford

Posted: 22nd October 2018

One hundred years ago, as the First World War drew to a close, Paul Clifford’s father sailed back to England from Egypt. He had served as part of the East Riding Yeomanry regiment. Photographs of the Desert Expeditionary Force, held in the Treasure House archives, provide the starting point for this exhibition. There are also references towards broader cultural and historical inheritance. This includes the colonial divisions of the Middle East, and have consequences reverberating to the present day.

Paul’s eclectic mix of techniques includes collage, silkscreen, painting and image transfer, just to name a few. These are featured on handmade paper, boards or birch wood panels. Newspaper clippings and archival material mix and merge with geometric patterns and outbursts of painterly colour.  The ‘real’ world of historical photographs turns into imaginary abstract landscapes. Highlighted by the underlying rhythmic patterns of Islamic ornaments, this creates a dreamy and surreal sensation.