R.L. Taylor

R.L. Taylor is an artist from Edinburgh who now predominantly works in painting and installation.

His practice is informed by an interest in Christianity, conspiracy, mythological beings, limitations to escapism, and ritual as a means of overcoming the barrier of the currency of guilt.

This body of work encompasses portraiture of emotional toil, often combining varying life forms in one figure. Collectively, these works discuss the crossover and amalgamation with other beings as a response to miscommunication and embarrassment, aiming to create fictional worlds in which these subjects could possibly exist. Through these works, which are displayed over two triptychs, religious iconography is plainly communicated or inverted in cycles, displayed alongside various portals, offering an escape or posing a barrier to the subjects.

Freakshow gives the viewer a close-up of our shared lifespan, from mystifying birth to glorious and cathartic funeral. It depicts varying symbiotic relationships between the idol and the freak, finding Christian morality in a contemporary setting, where divine intervention becomes absurdist happenstance. Over forming this project, the artist has grown closer to the narrative, departing from the often-hedonistic mindset that spurred his practice into fruition.