For the Last Time
About this artwork
This disturbing work was first shown in Davies's solo exhibition at the Whitechapel Art Gallery in London in 1972. The figures can be placed in an infinite number of positions to suggest various meanings. One formation can give the impression that the crawling figures are threatening the seated figure while another formation can suggest that the three masked figures are controlled by the seated figure. The exact relationship between the characters is enigmatic, but Davies has written that he wanted the group to express feelings of repression and brutality, and the humiliating rituals employed by oppressors.
Updated before 2020
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artist:John DaviesEnglish (born 1946)
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title:For the Last Time
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date created:1970 - 1972
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materials:Mixed media
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measurements:181.00 cm (figure one size); 137.00 cm (figure two size); 82.00 cm (figure three size); 75.00 cm (figure four size)
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object type:
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credit line:Purchased 1989
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accession number:GMA 3450
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gallery:
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subject:
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artwork photographed by:Antonia Reeve
John Davies
John Davies
Born in Cheshire, Davies studied sculpture at the Slade School of Fine Art in London, under Reg Butler, from 1967 to 1969. In the late 1960s Davies began making body and head casts in plaster, incorporating glass eyes and clothing the figures in real clothes. He became particularly well-known for...
