For his second solo exhibition for Vilma Gold, Brian Griffiths will present, a series of new sculptures, When The World was Young.

Brian Griffiths is best known for his life-size theatrical sculptures of medieval knights, spaceman and computers. Strong and familiar images are juxtaposed with quotidian, Lo-fi, materials to create fantastical hollow structures empty of internal organs and mechanics. When The World was Young compounds Griffiths’ interest in artifice and theatricality through, for the first time, direct references to theatre design, its mode of presentation and the role of the actor / character.

For When The World was Young centre stage will be dominated by a gigantic old world theatre wagon. Standing at around 5 x 4 x 2 metres the towering structure is assembled solely from 'antique' furniture and wooden trinkets salvaged from house clearance auctions and second-hand stores. Marquetry veneered wardrobes, round oak tables and hand carved mementoes have been intricately combined to form a magnificently decorated façade.

Installed like gargoyles, Peter Lorre Time Machine is a series of casts taken from the Hollywood actor’s death mask. Each bust has been dressed up to suggest traditional costumes from different historical periods. Roman centurion, cowboy and hippie formed accessories have been fashioned from ornate crockery and cheap costume props. Each make-over or new role given to Lorre appears like a belated attempt to breathe life into the character actor’s inanimate features.

Alongside the wagon scene and the actor will be a constructed setting. An assemblage of metal forms and objects that create an impoverished and charming landscape. With a dated institutional colour scheme and a reference to Futurist theatre it seems out of time pathetically waiting for the action to return.

Brian Griffiths’ lives and works in London. He has had solo and group shows nationally and internationally, including exhibitions at The Barbican Centre, London and Luisa Strina, Brazil. Future exhibitions include a one person exhibition at Breeder Projects Athens and a curated project for Camden Arts Centre, London.


For further information or images please contact Sarah McCrory:
+44(0) 20 8981 3344 or: sarah@vilmagold.com