Civilisation Collage, Page 328: Dickens took a kind of sadistic pleasure in the horrors he described
Civilisation Collage, Page 328: Dickens took a kind of sadistic pleasure in the horrors he described
One-of-a-kind, original artwork, 2025
24.5 x 17cm
Paper, PVA, thread
Intended for my recent exhibition at the Barbican Library in London, but unfinished at the time of installation. I used discarded magazines and the book ‘Civilisation’ by Kenneth Clark. First published by John Murray/BBC in 1969, this edition printed in 1971. Bought for 50p from a charity shop.
That’s the book to accompany the ancient TV series, responsible for my questionable early art education (didn’t include female artists). I turned each page (along with old museum magazines, and the like - see below) into a collage.
‘Gustave Dore, Scripture Reader in a Night Refuge, 1872’. Wood engraving.
The purple is cut from Do Ho Suh, Hub series at the Museum of Contemporary Art Astral, 2022. Tate Members’ Guide, Apr-May-Jun 2025. Walking The House, Tate Modern, May - Oct 2025.
The face is from Extracurricular Activity Projective Reconstruction #4 (Vampire Boss) 2004-5, by Mike Kelley. Cut from Tate Etc, Autumn 2024, Issue 63.
The title comes directly from Clark’s text.
Price includes UK postage, and a 5% donation to Arts Emergency.
Copyright: Alison Aye, 2025.