Michael Craig-Martin

These artworks are part of Ways of Seeing, a partnership between Waltham Forest London Borough of Culture 2019 and the Government Art Collection. Ways of Seeing turns the borough into a gallery with 33 internationally renowned artists displayed in 28 unexpected locations.

Each of these images shows familiar objects that the artist makes unfamiliar and strange through simplified drawing techniques, unusual pairings and changes in size and scale.   

“I’d like it to be as if everything was slowed down, so you could watch yourself putting together what it is to understand something,” he says.

When you visit the artworks, can you figure out the logic behind these pairs of images? Why is a light bulb paired with a table? Why is a trainer with a pitchfork? Craig-Martin invites us to make our own associations. The pictures can be arranged in any order, allowing for endless combinations.

Michael Craig-Martin was born in Dublin but grew up in the United States. He has lived in Britain since 1966. He is one of the most influential artists and teachers of his generation. He is Emeritus Professor of Fine Art at Goldsmiths, University of London. His former students include Damien Hirst, Gary Hume, Sarah Lucas and Fiona Rae.

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