Simon is interested in shared visual language – how we read images, how we come to similar conclusions offered to us by the photographer/film director or indeed painter. He is fascinated by photography and its ability to capture people and objects, and create images that can tell stories and invite narratives.
The paintings on display as part of Don’t Play With Your Food depict McDonald’s menu items. Simon personally bought the food, took it home and photographed it using the same principles as the marketers at McDonald’s – concentrating on lighting, camera angle and depth of field.
“I didn’t want to use McDonald’s own marketing images, as I wanted each menu item that I painted to be unique. Just like buying a burger and it tasting the same as everyone else’s, but looking slightly different in its construction. So the idea was to mass-produce paintings off the menu but each one would be a one off piece of art.
The physicality of paint and its application to create a photorealist artwork makes the image of fast food more tangible, relevant and interesting.
I see myself absolutely rooted in my practice as an artist/painter that cannot break away from the photographic image. Without photographs I would not paint. The natural conclusion for me is to create paintings that take this fascination with the photographic medium as far as I can go. It appears to be an ever changing and challenging field, one that is transient and reliant on new technology and experimentation.”
Simon Taylor graduated in 1994 in Fine Art painting from Manchester Metropolitan University and since then he has exhibited nationally and internationally. He has completed a number of solo exhibitions in galleries in London, Manchester, Southport and Huddersfield. He has also exhibited in-group exhibitions in London, Manchester, Liverpool, Dublin, Milan, Brussels, Utrecht, Zurich and the USA.
His works have been used for television productions and a variety of publications worldwide. He won The Sefton Open art prize in 2006 and the Winsor & Newton Painting Award at the Royal Society of British Artists Bicentennial Exhibition in 2023.
