On the underground, images, signs and advertising compete for space. Richard Woods’ Logo no. 26 simply advertises its own existence, a temporary ‘wooden’ circular structure set in two distinct surroundings, one at Leicester Square and one at Green Park. The artist has said that his works are like ‘logos of reality’ offering a style and concept that replaces, enhances or exaggerates a feature of the site.
The artist uses the traditional technique of woodblock printing, carving out large wooden blocks, inking the surface and then printing onto sheets of plywood, MDF or vinyl. This is then applied to the surface as a new skin, tightly hugging the host structure. The vibrant, exaggerated prints have previously covered floors, walls, ceilings and more recently entire buildings. The patterns have become symbols for a tongue in cheek idea of ‘Englishness’ understood through a language of crazy paving, red brick and mock-Tudor.
Woods continually returns to a cartoon-like wood grain floor. The motif changes in appearance from a fluorescent multi-coloured livery to a cool and sophisticated black on white. Woods has been repeating this pattern in various forms for six years in a broad range of public and private locations, deliberately straddling the worlds of art, design and architecture.
