Marc Quinn - HISTORYNOW - Screenfault and The cloud after Tiepolo

HISTORYNOW. Screenfault and HISTORYNOW. The cloud after Tiepolo by Marc Quinn have been published to coincide with the artist’s exhibition, HISTORYNOW, at The National Archaeological Museum of Venice, Italy, to coincide with the 2022 Art Biennale. These editions are based on Quinn’s most recent series of work, which surveys our increasing digital interdependence.

In HISTORYNOW. Screenfault, vibrant, jewel-like washes of colour, glitter and gold powder ink obscure the screenshot image, rendering it almost completely abstract apart from the emblematic time and airplane mode symbol hovering overhead. We get a glimpse of a headline, revealing the news stories concealed beneath the paint. Titled like a technical glitch, a falter in the smooth operation of our mobile devices, HISTORYNOW. Screenfault is evocative in its swirling, blurring abstraction, imaging the over-saturation of information we might feel after hours of feed-scrolling.