Spider I and II were both made in London, England during the Covid pandemic. The works depict a dead uprooted Spider Plant that had been growing in my home, but had died during the spring lockdown. Spider Plants are common place in many homes, in large part because they are easy to maintain, but also because they purify the air from toxins whilst breathing out oxygen. At a time when awareness of breath and access to fresh air had become so heightened, these household companions seemed a quiet and reassuring presence in his home – and this dead Spider Plant was a reminder of the fragility of breath. The work depicts the plant suspended, floating as if preserved, but when making the work the artist was also thinking about suspension, as a pause – a held breath.
Colclough studied at The Chelsea College of Art & Design 1996-1999 and Central Saint Martins 2008-2009 where he also currently teaches. Recent solo exhibitions include: Still Light, The Eye Sees, Arles, France (2019); The Place We’re In, Glass Cloud, London; On Ground, Gallery 333, Phoenix Art Centre, Exeter (2018); Neither From Nor Towards, Art Seen, Nicosia (2017); Choreography of Fragments, La Galerie Particuliére, Paris (2017); Material Symmetry, William Benington Gallery, London (2015); Other Worldly, dalla Rosa Gallery, London, (2014).
Selected group exhibitions include: Just a Bowl of Cherries, Experimental Center for the Arts,Thessaloniki, Greece (2019); The London Open, Whitechapel Gallery, London; New Relics, Thames-Side Gallery, London; Painting Notes, Art Seen, Nicosia, Cyprus; LAND SCAPE, Lone Wolf Projects, Exchange, Berlin (2018); Various Species, Greystone Industries, Suffolk (2016); Abt Forms, Art Seen, Cyprus (2016); Contemporary Drawing from Britain, Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts, Xi'an, China (2016); Perfectionism (part II), Griffin Gallery, London (2015); Anthology, Charlie Smith, London (2015); Jerwood Drawing Prize, The Jerwood Space, London (2013); The Fine Line, Identity Gallery, Hong Kong, (2013); EarthWorks, P.P.O.W. New York, (2012); There Was a Country Where They Were All Thieves, Jeanine Hofland Contemporary Art, Amsterdam (2012); Collection No 1.Interior and the Collectors, Lyon (2011); The Joy, Nettie Horn, London (2007); Mostyn Open, Oriel Mostyn, Llandudno, Wales (2005).
His work is in private collections in London, Berlin, Paris, New York, Hong Kong and Cyprus.