The defiant Wayne Sleeth

Cardboard City #14

Whilst shoppers jockey themselves in and out of the retail outlets of London we're creating a little oasis of calm and reflection this morning. We are outside one of the Southbank's artistic nuggets, the Bankside Gallery. Not only do we have one of our artist's exhibiting in front of its doors but another who's made it inside too. Although Peter S Smith is a regular contributor to our street-art interventions he's taking a break from our high jinx to exhibit at the Bankside's Mini Picture Show until 26th January. This however isn't the artist we're focussing on today....

Wayne Sleeth and Brussels Sprouts

Wayne Sleeth is the Grimsby born artist who has travelled to France to pursue a life of raw beauty and abstract painting. Even with La Manche between us it hasn't dampened his enthusiasm for our books and exhibitions at CollectConnect and he remains a loyal and enthusiastic contributor. He explains a little about his practice

" ...the physical act of painting is a way of orientating myself, covering and recovering ‘ground’ until l arrive at a conclusion of senses. I never know exactly where a canvas will lead me (l rarely work from sketches or photographs) but there is a clear moment for me when the work is ’finished’...."

Wayne Sleeth - Recession No.3

For the Cardboard City exhibition Wayne Sleeth has contributed an image from his 'Recession' series. The Barcode is one of the First World's most iconic motifs and here we find Sleeth's punctuation mark slapped right in the middle. The shopping trolley which is cast adrift in canal or river has been both a blot on the landscape and a sign of defiance for as long as I can remember. Although our economy limps along like a trolley with a dodgy wheel it has been far worse on the Continent and I wouldn't blame the European youth for casting their metallic detritus in the rivers of Capitalism.

AL.