Masquerade

Philip McFadden is also preoccupied with the possibilities of diverse materials. For many years he struggled with and intensely explored the possibilities of fibre glass, wood and cast bronze. The series of heads and masks in this exhibition are inspired, on the one hand by ancient Celtic and Egyptian cultures but more powerfully by the present day intimidating Balaclava, the sinister “Head with paper bag and welders goggles” and the frightening ambiguity of “Head with Feathers Headdress and Swimming Goggles.” These are mixed media sculptures but the preponderate material is papier maché, substituting for bronze in this period of austerity. The threatening ethos of the heads painted on canvas, also make multiple references to current community fears and to the covert surrealism of Max Ernst and others.