Morning Light 43

Morning Light for the week starting 26/05/26

"Be yourself, everyone else is already taken"

 - Oscar Wilde

The expression on the bright red plaster ‘face’ is unnervingly elusive. The puckered mouth and wide-eyes can be equally read as displaying fear, sadness or anxiety, whilst the colour choice is equally suggestive of blushed embarrassment and broiling rage. Hughes has poured paint directly from the tin, resulting in a warped appearance; the dripping chin of Red Faced suggests something altogether unfixed and unstable. Awarded Art Collections Purchase Prize 2014

We can all at times feel pressure to conform to others' expectations and wishes, to be someone other than who we are. But we are all unique; no two people are the same. Difference and individuality deserve to be celebrated.