When the RA called for entries to their profile Revolution competition I was instantly captivated. As a teenager I was fascinated by the Russia of the early 1900s with the barbaric murder of the royal family followed by the revolution and the flight of white Russians. In the years immediately following the revolution constructivist art exploded onto the scene. I found it dynamic and punchy, a literal artistic revolution. 

The RAs brief asked, but did not insist, that their Logo be present in the artwork and suggested using a cut out of Joshua Reynolds, artist and founder of the RA. I thought that a reference to both was necessary. As constructivism literally comes from “to construct” I decided to interpret this in an Architectural way. Perhaps if the computer and Autocad had existed during the time of the revolution surely the likes of Rodchenko and Malevich would have experimented with it? 

 I decided to use this as my starting point and set about constructing a well known portrait of the aged Joshua Reynolds in CAD. A scattering of elongated rectangles, like a thrown handful of pick-a-stick, appear behind the artist; the RA logo sits perched on one of these, poised, giving balance and pulling the elements together. The colours used are a CAD translation of the Russian artists established palette. 

 The profile works in both square and circular format, as was required by the brief, to allow use on twitter and instagram.

Through wind and rain and from dusty hot beginnings the elements of Snake, House and totem stand in the Park area of Adliya, Bahrain. 

It is joyful to sit and watch the local children squeal with delight as they climb and clamber up the play house; swinging from the high knotted rope and hanging over the second floor ramparts, unhindered by the Uks’ petty health and safety regulations. 

Meanwhile, adults of mixed origins sit together drinking Karacks while watching short films on the open air screen. The glow of the snaking element casts a soft light on the crowd below as it shudders in the warm breeze. 

The melting pot, reflected in the illuminated houses of the global village are expressed in the heart of the Bahraini playhouse where fragments of symbolic translucent acrylic sway. Bahrain forever a place of acceptance, grace and tolerance.