Pop Art Time Stamps — The Vibrant Collages of Charlie Haydn Taylor
There are so many issues plaguing the world at the moment. It feels like it’s the worst it’s ever been. But maybe it’s always like this; the belief that past troubles pale compared to those experienced in the present. British pop artist, Charlie Haydn Taylor, can give you both perspectives. Literally. His art covers a wide range of subjects within the social, political and psychological realms, using digital collage to show the present, and the past, side by side.
Chatting with Charlie, it’s hard to believe he’s in his mid-twenties, wise as he is for his age. His interest in exploring the past and examining it in the context of the present, hasn’t come about because he’s jaded or bitter, or even because he’s trying to agitate. “I’m not an activist,” he says. “Actually, I’m quite centrist. People assume I’m more liberal because of the topics in my work. I’m just interested in exploring the issues affecting people. That could be misogyny, climate change, mental health. And then I like to look at how those same issues might have appeared in the past.”
This raises two questions for the viewer. Looking back at past events, with the knowledge…