"'Klaatu' is one that I'd had in my personal
collection for a couple of years. Lockdown meant I began working from home
and I spent a lot of time re-assessing the works I had around me. The
inspiration behind 'Klaatu' was the film 'The Day the Earth Stood Still'
(1951). 'Klaatu' is the name of the alien who visits Earth to warn of the
dangers of increasing unreasoning suspicions and attitudes. In my analogous
piece the visitor stands central in the picture surveying the images around
him. The more I spent looking at the artwork I realised it would benefit from a
device that would encourage the viewer to take a closer look. As with much of
my work I feel there is a lot of visual information and aesthetic that is
missed in cursory viewing. I hit upon the idea of mimicking a microscope - the
circles across the piece urge the viewer to get closer and examine the artwork
thoroughly." - Simon Kirk