Suburban Utopia, An Infertile Place (SU4IP)
Lyndon Watkinson
Lyndon Watkinson (1999) is an artist, designer, writer, and musician based in Sheffield, UK. Democratising art and art context through artworks, publications, graphic design, articles, and sound. Creative director and founder of the online arts organisation SU4IP. His work is characterised by a desire for precision, often depicting aesthetics that celebrate and criticise the absurdity of corporatized identity, calling into question the necessity of creating false exteriors when what is not seen is often just as important.
In late 2020, a blog post entitled Suburban Utopia, An Infertile Place formed part of the wider inquiry and development of his practice for his bachelor's degree in fine art. As his work matured, he applied this term as a formalisation of his creative endeavours, later abbreviating it to SU4IP, now used as a digital alias and publishing entity.
Artworks
Publications
Articles
Websites
About
Sedimentary is a digital recreation of an anomalous, decommissioned for-sale sign located in Broomhall, Sheffield. Formulated around the idea of layers, the unexpected arrangement of blue, grey, and white symbolises the nature of changing areas and how objects can be affected by redevelopment.
Representing the modern equivalent of ready-made art, this work recontextualizes everyday structures to fulfil an aesthetic purpose, defying the original intentions of the individual(s) responsible for its current form.
︎ Sedimentary is an observational work about a decommissioned for-sale sign at the intersection of Hanover Way and Broomspring Lane, Sheffield. Outside what was formally the Jesus Centre, Broomhall.
When the property was sold, it was a logical and labour-saving decision to paint over the text on the sign rather than remove it entirely. However, this was done in a way that did not use a single uniform colour. Instead, the original writing beneath was shrouded in various shades of white and grey, which contrasted with the deep blue surface beneath. Applied in a way that doesn’t simply cover the text but also playfully interacts with the space. How deliberate was the application of paint to this sign? I wasn't comfortable with this sign's deliberate composition, recognising that it was done to serve a practical purpose rather than an artistic one.
In lieu of my ability to claim and display the physical version, Sedimentary is a recontextualization of practical ready-madeart. The name of this work is an extension of the process that brought it into existence, where layer upon layer of real estate, land development, repurposing,and retrofitting have aged and moulded this sign, alongside the surrounding area in which it is situated.