Empire
‘The word empire brings to mind, former, coming to an end, exploitation, violence, the taking of resources, a grandeur of purpose and a belief in a common aim.’
AO
‘AO are the letters proceeding BP, they are also common blood types, blood for oil. We are all involved in the blood spilt in securing oil. Every time we lift the pump nozzle a trigger is pulled & another bullet fired an innocent falls on foreign soil. The tap pours I try to wash my hands in a system which I know to be wrong. Maybe I can wash away my distain and believe it’s the way things are meant to be.’
LPH
‘Vain aspiration stands reflected in the dark pool to relieve ourselves we drill holes in our mother and fill our cups until they over flow. And yet the thirst is never quenched; the earth and those without mouths always cover the tab.’
Inside-out
‘The crisp white invitation to a life without toil, it hangs over a chair beneath which the pale carpet lies sodden. As the sales man dresses for his next deal a moment of doubt and panic gushes within, am I doing the right thing will it be better. Top bottom done, neck tie pulled tight, straighten jacket, just keep it to yourself. As the door self closes the room is as empty as the vessel.’
– Darren Lago, 2013
Darren Lago
Our daily lives are influenced by what surrounds us – the objects in our houses, the chairs we sit in, the cars in our streets, the towers in our cities and the clothes we wear. We reveal our inner character by what we buy. It is within this dialogue between ourselves and the objects we select to be part of our lives that Darren Lago focuses his art.
Examples of his sculpture include a mannequin's leg fused with a wine bottle forming a sensuous but disturbing form, his humorous Bum Tower alludes to Brancusi both in form and content.
Born in Walsall in 1965, Lago’s one-person exhibitions have included those at the New Art Gallery, Walsall, Haus Bill in Zumikon, Switzerland and the 1000 Eventi Gallery in Milan. He has works in the Saatchi and Arts Council collections.