Michael Taylor
Dog eats Lion
Exhibition: -
Standpoint presented Dog eats Lion, a solo exhibition by Michael Taylor.
A childhood nickname, ‘Jackanory’, has returned. Stories and events that have no great profundity, are becoming repeatedly referred back to. They are part of my own personal lexicon, my historical baggage. They reoccur and are repeated, become quicker, faster, more efficient and ever more relentless.
I once worked in a large Victorian mental institution as a cleaner and general help. One patient, a young man, roughly the same age as me at the time, was in a complete vegetative state. Yet, while feeding him, I saw recognition behind his eyes, he knew and understood his condition. I was so upset I had to be sent home.
I saw a very similar look a few years ago in a newspaper photograph. A young refugee was crossing some sea in a small boat when it was capsized by a larger boat trying to intercept it. He was slowly sinking beneath the waves when he was photographed. In his eyes you could see he understood where the end of his journey lay.
Another photograph was of an ancient game of horsemen playing football, seemingly with a dog as the ball. The dog in the photograph, in mid air after having had one horseman clatter into it, had that look. Full of fear and pain, yet understanding. It was a very human expression.
Thomas Müntzer was a 16th century cleric. Initially a follower of Martin Luther, he later broke away, feeling that Luther was not radical enough. He became involved in the Peasants War, an attempt to overturn centuries of abuse by the church and the wealthy. Their flag of hope contained a rainbow and sometimes a shoe. The revolt engulfed Central Europe, led to thousands of deaths and very little change in their lives.
When Saddam Hussein was overthrown, his huge statue was pulled down and then beaten relentlessly by a joyous mob with their shoes. Recently, statues have been falling again. Symbols of past vain glorious achievements, reassigned as merely triumphant tokens of cruelty and control.
I recently saw a small 14th century panel painting. It seemed to be a manual of how to kill in the most cruel and painful manner imaginable. People were skinned alive, burnt, decapitated, cut in half longwise, from the head down, with a two handed saw. Eyes were gouged and genitalia hacked off.
Stories create myth and eventually become belief. Lessons, if there are any, appear very rarely learnt.
- Michael Taylor
Michael Taylor is the founder of the Paupers Press and co-founder of Standpoint Studios and Mark Tanner Sculpture Award. He has had a few shows but won no prizes. His work is held in a collection. He has taught at several art schools, a few of which are still open, some have closed. He has travelled extensively within the EU and considers himself a man for warm seasons.