Since his days as a rebellious student at Central Saint Martins, McLean has tackled the complexities and contradictions of art—chiselling away at its self-seriousness. His work, which touches nearly every medium from photography, film and performance to painting, drawing and printmaking, has expanded these fields through humour and an unrelenting spirit of creativity.
All images Courtesy of the artist and Tanya Leighton, Berlin
A particular focus in McLean’s long career has been the qualifications of an artwork. The question of what constitutes a sculpture—should a scone or a well-peeled potato also be considered?