Out and About – Daisy Madden Wells

What have you been up to in the last year?
“This year has actually been a pretty busy one for me, I’ve pinged between multiple studios, three — Goldilocks style. Artists who have had a studio this past year are very lucky, it provided another space in which to just ‘be’ — during a time where those were drastically reduced for most people. Being slightly more isolated has given me time to really double down on things I’m interested in, I’ve nerded out over paper mache techniques and taken a deep dive into the decorative. I’m a staunch defender of the decorative. I see it as an attempt to make physical, and then surround ourselves with, everything from the precise political moment, to nostalgia of a forgotten past, to our deepest desires for the future. I wonder if there will be a specific epoch or style that will come out of this period? I’ve certainly been workshopping my own — the existentialist grotesque!”

What are we seeing on the grass?
“On the grass is a lion picnic. I’ve been kind of obsessed with lions for the past couple of years. Not real ones, of course, but their position as an emblem and symbol throughout history. This is a bit of a roll-call of all the guys I’ve made in this period, and as you can see they are a bit wary of socialising. I’m interested in creating an intimacy with the archetypal. Seeing how far I can imbue feeling and vulnerability, even spirit, into an object — especially ones relating to power or masculinity. Perhaps it’s not a coincidence that after this year they’ve ended up looking so scared!
Since the beginning of spring I’ve been fantasizing about a time where I can arrive at the beach or the park and see a big group of my friends who wave me over, and we all sit and eat and get drunk together, easy breezy. It’s not quite the same, but I invite you to this picnic where you can space out on the petals and enjoy an aesthetically appropriate treat. Do not feed the lions though, they are purely symbolic.”