In architecture, this movement back in time has been called New Classicism; in interior design, there has been no such label for this retrospective telescoping. Let’s call it New Interiors. Far from an attack on modernism or an expression of architectural dogma, these classically inspired interiors are fresh with contemporary twists and cultural reshaping.

Because they bring together many disparate ancient sculptural styles, each sculpture is impossible to figure out. They prompt unknowability, ignorance and bewilderment and hence provoke the viewer to produce their own readings and imbue the statues with their own meanings. The Artist explained this in conjunction with the Ancient Chinese idea of ‘Nande hutu’- the desirable state of not knowing. Within ignorance is the possibility for intellectual nourishment.

Debates surrounding plaster casts today centre on their conservation and display, and how to display these works so that the importance of their materiality is emphasised. As a reference point of how far one can push a medium they form an invaluable resource for contemporary artists. They are not tied up in a didactic hierarchy of genre but are rather an indicator as to what can be achieved.

…in my interview with the artist, his background in stonemasonry and longstanding interest in classical architecture was referenced - this is all I gleaned of his personal life, and it’s all I need to know to fully appreciate the art. The cult of the artist can often overshadow the quality of work produced; with Four Crowns, the emphasis is solely on art with no distractions…

…from a modern-day viewpoint, it could be observed that most people prefer the visual image to a body of text to express not just thoughts and information, but also emotions. It is common across generations in the 21st century to use images to create an online presence, as well as to cultivate an identity both on the screen and in the real world…

Our oldest surviving instructions for mixing and applying stucco, the precursor to scagliola, appear in Vitruvius’ On Architecture which was written in the first century BCE. Two hundred years later, Pliny wrote about what we might identify as scagliola: the use of plaster in architecture specifically to mimic decorative stone. This comes as no surprise when we consider the value placed on decorative stone in the ancient world…

…the fascination with ruins is a fascination with what is not there; while an archaeologist views the decay of historical sites as a form of scientific data, which has value as a record of the past, an artist focussing on the aesthetics of ruins views this decay and lack of completeness as valuable in and of itself.