In a perceptive and fiercely observant new body of work, Creed turns to the hurried streets of London – a map of terrain she enigmatically describes as her ‘metrotopia’ – to interrogate what it means to be a stranger in the crowd. Having developed a distinctive practice in both oil painting and works on paper, Creed depicts familiar experiences from seeking distraction on the tube to taking a lunch break in a crowded central square, and in so doing examines what are responsibilities to the anonymous stranger with whom we share a distinct intimacy. Often set against iconic London landmarks, from UCL’s Quad to Trafalgar Square and Piccadilly Circus, the figures in Creed’s paintings are beset by the alienation that can so often accompany urban life. By drawing on influences as diverse as Dexter Dalwood, Dryden Goodwin, Alice Neel, and Matthew Krishanu, and harnessing her own unique approach to compositional montage and spatial logic, Creed emerges as one of the most insightful figurative chronicles of London working in the city today.
