‘Most Men Lead Lives Of Quiet Desperation’, 2023

In 1997 James Wootton-Davies fatally crashed his glider plane, during a standard flight exercise; this being his main hobby after retiring from the family car breakers business, ‘Salop Car Breakers LTD’. Due to my grandfather’s previous battles with depression and suicide, a shadow of doubt was formed as to whether the tragedy was truely an incident, or in fact a successful attempt at his own life. From insurance broker to mine owner, James struggled to find his place in society; coming from a privileged yet strict household, he felt he owed his parents a level of success that he ultimately didn’t achieve until after his parents had passed. His pursuit of happiness was long winded, but eventually came with the purchase of his breakers yard; James bought the business from a gentleman named Norman Hale in 1981 due to the sole purpose of it being a ‘fun’ job. In my eyes the level of happiness he ultimately achieved, is a success in its own right. This project is me reliving my grandfather's life, creating a vision of himself in the form of sculpture and painting. Spanning from his time in the scrapyard, to the moment of impact leading to his demise.

‘Most men Lead Lives Of Quiet Desperation i’, 2023, Acrylic on stretched canvas.

‘Most Men Lead Lives Of Quiet Desperation ii’, 2023, Found object sculpture.

‘Most Men Lead Lives Of Quiet Desperation iii’, 2023, Jesmonite, chicken wire, PVC pipes, scrim, clothing, wooden pallets.

‘Most Men Lead Lives Of Quiet Desperation iv’, 2023, Welded found object sculpture.