When we talk about the 1960s, certain words come to mind: peace, love and revolution. In an era of great social and cultural upheaval, music became the mouthpiece of a generation. Indeed, the intertwining of music and culture was so pronounced that when we look at an artwork like Martin Sharp’s, we are not only exposed to a representation of a musician, but a portrait of an age.
Sharp’s artwork has an inherent musicality to it. The discs act as a visual embodiment of sound, reverberating throughout the work. The shifting sizes of the circles seem to undulate like music, transforming the aural experience into the visual realm. The reference to Bob Dylan’s song, Mister Tambourine Man, further brings meaning to the abstracted shapes, as the lyrics allude to the hallucinatory effects of LSD. In Sharp’s artwork, we behold a sprawling stream of consciousness, which hypnotises the viewer - compelling us not only to listen but also to hear.