Artist Talk: Ed Hadfield. Affirmative 1.

About

The installation 'Affirmative 1' by Ed Hadfield appropriates the life affirming ‘yes saying’ philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche through an exploration of James Joyce’s novel ULYSSES. It explores ‘virtue ethics’ as an underlying character style or mentality that informs the way you act in the world; as well as looking at how ethics and aesthetics can be combined to affect the way people feel, think and act in the world.

‘Affirmative 1’ was originally designed for Peckham Square where it was installed on pillars over a 20 metre span. For its realisation at Lubomirov / Angus-Hughes, the three street signs were compressed into a much closer framework, thus creating a series of off-set parallel lines between the signs, leading to an enhanced conceptual and visual energy field within the art work. The jarring geometry of this version can also be seen as a response to the contradictory nature of its placement, finding itself on a gallery wall yet at the same time within a public space. 

http://www.edhadfield.com/affirmative-1/

http://www.edhadfield.com/artgalleryinstallations/