The Screen
Sean Pulestonthe [...] space
28 April - 31 May 2015
Sean Puleston’s work is about the evocative nature of symbolic items, focusing on how colour becomes a cultural signifier. He aspires to create a sublime experience for the viewer through seemingly simple combinations of abstracted color, light, space and sound. The objects he creates are often heavily influenced by his social and political values. The aim is that the individual aspects of the work develop a conversation between one and another: confronting, hiding and highlighting its basic elements in a chaotic harmony.
Inspired by his research into the 1831 ‘Merthyr Rising’, Puleston’s latest series of work repeatedly represents the powerful colour and shape of the red flag, in a variety of different guises and materials, fragile and honest in their construction. The red flag is a political emblem but also a relic from a past culture, slowly fading away within modern life. It symbolized an act of solidarity amongst a community, united in an effort to take control of their future. This representation grew to encompass other ideals like socialism, nationalism, patriotism, collective strength and purpose but also opposition, rebellion, persecution and inevitably, at times, death. The unease within Puleston’s imagery serves as a reminder to the problematic nature of conforming to an ideology that exists under a flag.
About | Sean Puleston
Sean Puleston studied at Swansea Metropolitan University gaining a BA with First Class Honors in Fine Art - Painting and Drawing. Since 2009 he has been shortlisted for several awards including The Jane Phillips Award and the Welsh Eisteddfod Young Artist Scholarship. He has also been commissioned for several large-scale public artworks and exhibited throughout Britain and Europe.
