George Storm Fletcher is a printmaker, performance artist, and menace. They are at their best when being outrageously queer, playful, and heartfelt. They originally hail from Ely, in the Fens of South-East England. They now live and work in Leeds.
Fletcher’s practice focuses on the unimaginable effects of happenings and histories. In recent years this has manifested as a series of text-based public interventions, with their trademark, immediate, DIY aesthetic.
Their work is grounded in Britain, it plays with informal expressions and slang. The works are site-specific referencing domestic buildings and architectures, using magnolia vinyl matt emulsion to root the work in their personal history. Each intervention stems from immediate feeling- of voice and voicing something that can never truly be spoken.
The First Rule of Assertiveness is a note on self-worth and hindsight. It reminds us of the power we have to influence our own futures, whilst sensitive to the force required to reimagine our possibilities. The image depicts their sister’s house in Ely; it is a stone’s throw away from their secondary school.
“My Mum says this phrase to me, as a prompt to use my autonomy and agency. As I have grown up, I have come to realise its true force – especially as a queer person in Britain right now. I wanted the form of the lightbox to reflect the messaging of the image. I polished plywood with beeswax to elevate its layered, material strength into a metaphor for knowing when to compromise and when to stand your ground.”
I Love You Sometimes... captures the unexpected sentimentality of a seemingly throw away object. It memorialises the post-it note and archives the reminder as both a practical and emotional token. It is a ‘rollover etching’ on Somerset paper, the font is Fletcher’s Dad, Richard’s, handwriting. It has been salvaged from saved shopping lists.
Always/Sometimes, is a handbound artist book, compiling all the images from the ‘I Love You Sometimes’ series, along with preparatory sketches, and collages.
