Craig McClure: Atlas

Created for the vault, Atlas is a site specific installation that draws together the many threads of McClure’s art making.

Inspired by an obsession with American comic books and cartoons, he has built his own caste of characters that look into fictional stereotypes focused on ideas of masculinity and the super-hero. McClure has turned these tough guys into what he calls ‘man puddles’, unlikely to rescue you and more accustomed to panic attacks. Through the use of collage, mark making and painting McClure has built an environment where his anti-hero’s can go and hang. 

Influenced by the internet, film, television, overheard conversations and observing the people around him, McClure explores and challenges ideas around stereotypes, politics, popular culture and mass media. It is a subtle form of social commentary that allows you to have a little chuckle while hinting at something deeper. While McClure plays with humour in this work he is also interested in the daily struggles and conflicts we each have to contend with in our individual lives.