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Sean Dower: Artworks and information

Witness Appeal Signs - 2010

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Watercolour and ink on acid free paper (320mm x380mm - framed)

These watercolours are based on sandwich-board style, vinyl lettering signs, which started appearing on the streets of London in 2002.
The paintings might be thought of as urban landscapes and as t hey are in portrait format (like the signs they depict), they also act as portraits
of the people affected by or perpetrating the various incidents.

The signs have been quite successful in helping solve crimes, but quite unpopular with the public who live in the neighbourhoods concerned.
A kind of public fatigue has set in with the signs, partly because they have become everyday and people often encounter them voyeuristically
when passing through an unfamiliar neighbourhood.

In effect, they are tragic stories about actual people and tell us a lot about the cultural situation we live in. The language of these signs is quite specific
and when collected together, the tragedy becomes intensified (as does the potential banality).

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