Martyr’s paintings dramatize utopian modernist structures. Presented in a vignetted world, they give an appearance of being distanced in time.  The initial impression is a sense of nostalgia and aspiration, however Martyr’s translation of these images point to a respect for the ‘Modernist Mantra’ of human emancipation and the enrichment of daily life.

Within Martyr’s narrative of architecture and epic landscapes, the placement of long-familiar objects are directed and amplified by the use of text. The paintings act as ‘clarion calls’, urging a return to simpler values and paradoxically, encouraging indulgence in private, discrete pleasures.

Will Martyr’s work draws from sources ranging from Futurism to Pop in both art and music. In ‘Private Eyes’ (its title is taken from the Hall and Oates’s 1981 hit), the words jump out at the viewer from its epic mountain vista, sounding a warning at the same time as being frivolously seductive. Martyr’s other painting titles, ‘Hurts So Good’ (ref: John Mellencamp 1982), ‘The Art Of Parties’(ref: Japan 1982) and ‘Cover Girl’ revel in such ‘double entendres’. The surreal hyperbole of the imagery, the songs, and their titles, marry to form a single idea.