The Venal Muse

The Venal Muse

2012

Enamel Paint, Glass, Resin, Steel, Wood

162.56cm x 52cm x 52cm

• Afterimage, 2013
• La Vie de Chateau, 2013
• Mat Collishaw, New Art Gallery Walsall, 2015

These sculptures pay tribute to Baudelaire's Les Fleurs du Mal, a book of poetry exploring themes of decadence and eroticism.

On close inspection their fine petals have a flesh-like appearance, with anthropomorphic scars and sores pitting the skin.

They are reflections on the depraved state of modern, media-saturated culture and the spectre of genetic manipulation.