‘Celebrities’

This one from a series of prints made by artist John Squire(guitarist of the reunited Stone Roses). Titled after varied high profile public figures, they question our relationship with a persona, a construct with which we become enamoured. The marks are individually stamped onto the canvas and are variations on the eight-pointed star of Islamic religious art, of which symmetry and repetition are specific. I think the assigned names aren’t meant to make the pieces resemble a portrait, rather instill false expectations and set the emotional premises for engagement and dialogue. It’s interesting to see this subject matter coming from, arguably, ‘one of them’. Although the line of ‘ it’s hard work, you don’t see that from outside’ has oft been used, I’d say these prints go further than that, asking if celebrities should hold so much sway over us.