David Spriggs

David Spriggs

Examining various icons and structures of contemporary surveillance, Spriggs exposes the relationship between optics and mechanisms of surveillance. The artist’s work consists of a succession of transparent acetate sheets inhabited by hand-drawn shapes. When superposed, these independent shapes create the illusion of three-dimensional forms. The exhibition features Regisole, a 3D layered painting based on a Roman equestrian statue, which was destroyed after the French Revolution and which has since been regarded as a symbol of monarchy. Spriggs combines this historical icon with a mounted anti-riot police officer, represented via coloured thermal imaging; hence, Regisole brings together notions of power, colour and vision. Correspondingly, Spriggs’ video work, The Visible Spectrum, uses thermal imagery to call attention to broader issues of surveillance and illegal immigration.