Donald’s work deals with our understanding and interpretation of the past. History and memory are dismantled and recombined to form layers of meaning, opening a forum to examine the systems and boundaries of visual communication. This is investigated with particular reference to the means of collection, interpretation and dissemination of information; with an emphasis on human attempts at control and the areas where these can fail.
Donald works with painting, drawing, collage, found objects and installation. Each medium brings its own historical and material connotations. These are woven together with differing processes resulting in a framework that adds fresh complexity but also provides a method for understanding, based on what knowledge the viewer brings. They also present differing levels of interaction through their means of production, offering an interpretive space for the viewer: a web of signifiers calling for a narrative.
Current areas of focus include tensions between contemporary and historical methods of information storage, retrieval and presentation. Also, a blending of the political and the personal, with more familiar or popular images from history decontextualised and reimagined. The relative democratization and accessibility of information exchange through the increasing expanse of the internet, combined with its incorporeality, leads to a situation where we must piece together our own story of the world using the best qualitative judgement we can muster.
'A View from Babel' detail ii, mixed media installation, February 2014 'A View from Babel' detail iv, collage, February 2014 'Erda's A-Bomb', Oil on Canvas, July 2013 'Redaction' detail i, mixed media installation, June 2014 'Redaction' detail ii, mixed media installation, June 2014 'Sequester' detail i, Oil on Canvas, November 2013 'Sequester' detail ii, mixed media installation, November 2013 'Sequester' detail iii, mixed media installation, November 2013 'Sequester' detail iv, collage, November 2013 "And the Wind, God's Icy Wind, Will Blow!" oil on linen 'Unrealised Living-Space', oil on linen Craig Donald - File and Forget, detail from mixed media installation, pencil on paper, 2015 Craig Donald - Manual Retrieval, installation shot, mixed media installation, 2015 Craig Donald - Oswald Glitch, January 2015, Oil on Linen Craig Donald - Ozymandias, Installation Shot, mixed media installation, 2018 Craig Donald - Quo Vadis detail, collage, August 2018 Craig Donald - Quo Vadis, Installation shot, mixed media installation, 2019