A vibrant undertaking of some of society’s most pressing issues, the work of Charlie Haydn Taylor uses the intimacy of home interiors to discuss personal human dilemmas and broader issues ranging from government surveillance to the effect of mental health on individual behaviour. A modernisation of the classic British pop art of the 1960s, Charlie utilises key themes from well-known artworks to relate to the central idea of each piece; from Damien Hirst’s spot paintings as a reference to pharmaceutical use, to Francis Bacon’s feature as a comment on the depicted figures struggles with their human condition. By combining the recognisable interiors with his own bold, block colours, Charlie has created a world where the figures exist in such a way as to comment on the negative progression that has formed in parts of society. By collaging figures who existed before many of the issues touched upon in the work, Charlie creates a visual paradox commenting on how we, in many ways, have regressed as a society. Having graduated from Goldsmiths University in 2018, Charlie has since exhibited in influential art cities from London to Florence and has picked up representation from a handful of galleries in the UK and Singapore. He is becoming an important name in the progression of contemporary art on the island of Jersey, where he is currently based. Previous collaborations include creating album artwork for singer, songwriter Louis III, whose song ‘Anywhere’ with DJ duo Sigma has over 60 million listens. He was also 1 of 5 winners of the Unsigned prize for illustration run by Bartle Bogle Hegarty in 2020.
