The Clairvoyant[/caption]The Clairvoyant is a digital collage featuring a public domain image of George Lois, widely credited with sparking the creative revolution in advertising in the 1960s through his bold campaigns and iconic magazine covers. It depicts an imagined origin story, a shop mannequin tethered, under the control of the adman where its full potential can finally be exploited.

In this work, I play on the idea of clairvoyance, a quality essential in running great ad campaigns. Lois, with his right hand raised to his temple, in a gesture suggestive of divine insight or indeed mind-reading, appears to look into the future. What does he see, or whose mind does he read? God? You? The mannequin? A body corporate? Or perhaps the city of consumers behind him – a grid beginning to shimmer in metaphysics?
Lois is credited with saying

“Advertising should tear you apart in the moment ─ make you scream, make you think, make you do something.”

This sentiment offers a perfect entry point into my wider practice, which explores how advertising and marketing today exert control: shaping identity, desire, and even memory.

The Clairvoyant is printed at A0 (84.1 x 118.9 cm) on 150gsm satin-coated paper.