It is perhaps not surprising that having given up a career as a Military aircraft and weapons engineer to study fine art that Rayner should tackle big issues and deal with cause rather than effect. In this light these important works can be seen as a powerful satire of the Icon and the dangers of idolatry, constructed from the western worlds most ancient and violently disputed Icon, the Body of Christ (Hosts or Altar Bread).

These large and geometrically intriguing reconstructions of contemporary icons, rendered purposely in low definition, reveal our ability to recognize images from very little visual information. This…

It is perhaps not surprising that having given up a career as a Military aircraft and weapons engineer to study fine art that Rayner should tackle big issues and deal with cause rather than effect. In this light these important works can be seen as a powerful satire of the Icon and the dangers of idolatry, constructed from the western worlds most ancient and violently disputed Icon, the Body of Christ (Hosts or Altar Bread).

These large and geometrically intriguing reconstructions of contemporary icons, rendered purposely in low definition, reveal our ability to recognize images from very little visual information. This is a visual metaphor for our innate tendency to stereotype and the profound familiarity of these images. In this age of global celebrity, infamy and ’the brand’, Rayner argues that these abilities are being subverted. Despite the endless media coverage given to celebrity, the detail is ignored and we are fed and need stereotypes. A world reduced to good or evil, ’cool’ or passé.

Rayner’s controversial use of ’Hosts’ to construct these images relates these contemporary icons to an older world where religion not celebrity or status was central to life. In addition, depending on your belief, the ’Host’ is either the body of Christ or just plain bread. The implication is that we should similarly question contemporary icons; are they real or distortions, poorly resolved simulations, simulacra. The use of ’Hosts’ is particularly poignant in the construction of contemporary political figures, where religious fervor, of all varieties, and its consequences has an effect on all of our lives.David Rayner studied Fine Art at the Slade College Of Fine Art and the London Guildhall University.