 Power and Beauty |
Colin Self was born in Norfolk in 1941 where he studied at Norwich School of Art before attending the Slade School, London from 1961-1963. His work was heavily influenced by growing up next to an American air force base in East Anglia and two early trips to the States in 1962 and 1965.
Self's early images of seductive women in cinema interiors alluded to a 'pop' sensibility, although these were allied with pieces which contained a darker, political message. Self was concerned with the growing nuclear threat and an increasing concern that mankind's inability to control its own technological advances would end in self-destruction. By the late 1960's, Self had become a compulsive collector of photographic images, and this was to be a major contributing factor in the production of his seminal ‘Power and Beauty' series in 1968.
Over the last few years, there has been a growing recognition of the importance of his work and in 2004 Self's work was an integral part of Art and the 60s: This Was Tomorrow at the Tate Gallery. He was awarded the Royal Academy's Wollaston prize in 2005 and has had solo exhibitions at the Tate Gallery, London, the ICA, London and most recently a retrospective at Pallant House Gallery in Sussex in 2008.