Seeing James Oliver’s piece, ‘B.E.D (BigEpicDiorama)’ at the Matthew’s Yard Gallery space in Croydon was really interesting and has inspired me to want to create works of a similar scale using mixed media. Having seen images of it online, the piece was so much more powerful in person and I spent a while looking at it closely and examining the different media used by the artist. The immense amount of detail and variations in patterns, colours, textures and mark-making make the piece much more exciting when viewed in the flesh. The varied layers are also far more effective when being viewed in person, as in this piece some areas stick out further than others. The process of creation is clearer than when viewing it online, as the varied layers, paint splatters and use of collage can be seen, as well as how far different components stick out from the wall.

I also like how the title and appearance of the artwork references Robert Rauschenberg’s ‘Bed’, adding the artist’s own style to the piece but referencing the layout and mixed media, paint and collage style adopted by Rauschenberg. The large scale of it and use of ‘combines’ (found objects) are similar to those in Rauschenberg’s work, as his piece ‘Bed’ includes a well-worn pillow, sheet, and quilt as the basis for his painting. However, in Oliver’s piece many of the objects are far less natural in appearance, using brightly coloured plastic instead of the muted tones and fibres of fabrics (e.g. through inclusion of My Little Pony heads and Lego blocks and people.) Like Rauschenberg’s piece, Oliver’s ‘B.E.D’ is hung on the wall like a traditional painting, although where Rauschenberg’s piece can be seen to act as an intimate self-portrait, Oliver’s is instead somewhat less personal, as it uses widely available machine manufactured objects. This obviously relates to his style through distinct brightly coloured shapes, rigid geometric forms and an exploration of collage and mixed media.

Although the room in which ‘B.E.D’ was placed was not greatly lit, seeing it in the flesh allowed me to better appreciate the process of creation and experience the 3D nature of the work and the application of paints and colours.

James Oliver, ‘B.E.D’ close-up