Tied to Everything Else at Paradise Works
Maja Lorkowska, Exhibitions Editor
Paradise Works presents Tired to Everything Else, a solo exhibition by Chris Alton.
Alton’s multifaceted practice is displayed in the show, including textile banners, videos, a typeface, drawings, posters, and a publication. While the artist does not describe himself as an activist, his work is very politically involved and stems from a tradition of anti-nuclear and anti-arms campaigns which are often accompanied by textile banners, a tradition and method which Alton still utilises today. Still, he is aware of the limited efficacy of rebellion within the realm of visual arts which is the foundation for his reluctance to subscribe to the activist artist label.
Tied to Everything Else may owe its title to the broad spectrum of topics covered in the show, all more or less loosely tied. These include the climate crisis first and foremost, but the show also tackles Britain’s colonial history, neoliberal capitalism, extinction, migration and nuclear power. The works in the exhibition swiftly manoeuvre between these topics, with many loaded with multi-layered, overlapping meanings.
