Spray paint, canvas, oil, steel and anti climb guard. 2022. 220 x 210 x 60 cm. Exhibited at Pigeon Park, London.
Created for Pigeon Park 2, this work ‘was inspired by the painterly ghosts which are left behind by graffiti removal techniques and the weaponising of architecture in and around the Borough of Southwark. Anti-climb spikes, security fences, and other metropolitan motifs are repurposed as a testament to finding some beauty within the concrete jungle’. - Christopher Stead
Spray paint, canvas, oil, steel and anti climb guard. 2022. 220 x 210 x 60 cm. Exhibited at Pigeon Park, London.
Created for Pigeon Park 2, this work ‘was inspired by the painterly ghosts which are left behind by graffiti removal techniques and the weaponising of architecture in and around the Borough of Southwark. Anti-climb spikes, security fences, and other metropolitan motifs are repurposed as a testament to finding some beauty within the concrete jungle’. - Christopher Stead
Spray paint, canvas, oil, steel and anti climb guard. 2022. 220 x 210 x 60 cm.
Created for Pigeon Park 2, this work ‘was inspired by the painterly ghosts which are left behind by graffiti removal techniques and the weaponising of architecture in and around the Borough of Southwark. Anti-climb spikes, security fences, and other metropolitan motifs are repurposed as a testament to finding some beauty within the concrete jungle’. - Christopher Stead
Spray paint, canvas, oil, steel and anti climb guard. 2022. 220 x 210 x 60 cm.
Created for Pigeon Park 2, this work ‘was inspired by the painterly ghosts which are left behind by graffiti removal techniques and the weaponising of architecture in and around the Borough of Southwark. Anti-climb spikes, security fences, and other metropolitan motifs are repurposed as a testament to finding some beauty within the concrete jungle’. - Christopher Stead
Spray paint, emulsion, oil on canvas with anti climb guard steel frame . 82 x 103 cm.
Buff : (noun / verb) - The erasure of graffiti by painting over, chemically removing or pressure washing. Stephen’s ‘Redact’ artwork series explores and examines the process of buffing. He focuses on the amateur removals created by property owners and maintenance companies using spray paint and other DIY means to cover over and obscure tags, a quick fix approach until a professional team can carry out a removal. This process results in hazy and erratic compositions, which differs to the more conservative professionally created buffs. Stephen’s work is a painterly form of documenting what he see’s in public space, through his work he archives and frames these buffs into an art context.
Spray paint, emulsion, oil on canvas with anti climb guard steel frame . 95 x 123 cm.
Buff : (noun / verb) - The erasure of graffiti by painting over, chemically removing or pressure washing. Stephen’s ‘Constituent Painter’ artwork series explores and examines the process of buffing. He focuses on the amateur removals created by property owners and maintenance companies using spray paint and other DIY means to cover over and obscure tags, a quick fix approach until a professional team can carry out a removal. This process results in hazy and erratic compositions, which differs to the more conservative professionally created buffs. Stephen’s work is a painterly form of documenting what he see’s in public space, through his work he archives and frames these buffs into an art context.
Spray paint, oil emilsion on tactile tile with steel frame. 2021. 45 x 60 cm. This work is part of a larger series which investigates methods of communication, in this case - focusing on 'tactile tiles' and sprayed construction markings.
Tactile tiles are a system of textured ground surfaces found on stairs, footpaths and train stations among other places. These tiles signal messages or warnings to visually impaired pedestrians and are interpreted through their spacing and texture. I was drawn to use this material due to it's high level of visual texture and to show how we communicate through touch.
In 1976, construction workers accidentally cut into a petroleum pipe beneath the pavement in California, leading to a large explosion. This accident was the catalyst for 'the systemization of critical colour coded utility markings'. These markings are deciphered by construction workers daily and denote various meanings. For example - blue marks signal water pipes and yellow signifies gas, whereas red marks show electricity cables. These sprayed markings exemplify another kind of communication, one concerned with language. With this new body of work, Stephen combines these two visual languages to create artworks which highlight the painterly and communicative characteristics of public space.
Spray paint, canvas, oil, steel and anti climb guard. 2022. 220 x 210 x 60 cm. Shown at Omni Gallery, London for the Post Vandalism group show. On view beside Alexandre Bavard.
This work ‘was inspired by the painterly ghosts which are left behind by graffiti removal techniques and the weaponising of architecture in and around the Borough of Southwark. Anti-climb spikes, security fences, and other metropolitan motifs are repurposed as a testament to finding some beauty within the concrete jungle’. - Christopher Stead
Spray paint, canvas, oil, steel and anti climb guard. 2022. 220 x 210 x 60 cm. Shown at Omni Gallery, London for the Post Vandalism group show.
This work ‘was inspired by the painterly ghosts which are left behind by graffiti removal techniques and the weaponising of architecture in and around the Borough of Southwark. Anti-climb spikes, security fences, and other metropolitan motifs are repurposed as a testament to finding some beauty within the concrete jungle’. - Christopher Stead
Spray paint, emulsion, oil on canvas . 92 x 122 cm.
Buff : (noun / verb) - The erasure of graffiti by painting over, chemically removing or pressure washing. Stephen’s ‘Redact’ artwork series explores and examines the process of buffing. He focuses on the amateur removals created by property owners and maintenance companies using spray paint and other DIY means to cover over and obscure tags, a quick fix approach until a professional team can carry out a removal. This process results in hazy and erratic compositions, which differs to the more conservative professionally created buffs. Stephen’s work is a painterly form of documenting what he see’s in public space, through his work he archives and frames these buffs into an art context.