Brian Griffiths is a junk shop Viking; Beneath The Stride Of Giants is his own personal Valhalla. Working entirely with recycled materials, Griffiths’s adventure starts at second-hand furniture markets, each antique table and chiffonier is a conquest towards his ultimate campaign; his galleon is more than just a sculpture – it’s a monumental attempt to create something with real possibility.
For Griffiths it’s simply about matter over mind: mahogany veneer from the backs of Edwardian tallboys bows perfectly for the prow, a Victorian bureau makes for an ornate helm, bizarre little architectural cornices stand in for protective totems of ancient gods and monsters; the sails, made from fabric purchased at a gypsy market in Greece, were lovingly stitched together by his girlfriend.
The impedimenta of mystical voyage, the accoutrements of war; Griffiths creates an armada of imagination, a monumental epic of fantasy and legend.