John Goto born 1949, Stockport, England. John studied fine art at St Martin's School of Art, London in the late 1960's where he developed an interest in european cinema and literature which in turn led him to the medium of photography.
In the 1980's he starting combining painting and drawing with photography which laid the groundwork for his later works with digital manipulation. John Goto is recognized internationally as a leading practitioner in the field of photo-digital art. Since 1992 he has used digital technology to reflect on European history and contemporary social and political events.
His series entitled 'New World Circus' depicts bizarre circus scenes as a representation of the current (then) situation in Iraq and the 'New World Order' that Blair and Bush foolishly hoped would prevail in Iraq and beyond. The acts themselves are based on real circus routines and Goto himself plays the brash, red coated and moustached ringmaster and accompanying him are family, friends and neighbours, playing the parts of circus characters.
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| New World Circus Series: Statue Entrée, 2006 |
Another series entitled 'Floodscapes' came about through a partnership between the Environment Agency’s ‘Floodscape’ project, the University of Derby and John Goto. This project aims to explore the use of art as a means of imaginatively engaging the public with the aesthetics of landscape and the issues and options involved in managing floods.
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| Floodscapes series: Polyphemus on the Thames Barrier, 2006 |
John Goto's work is not for me, although I can appreciate his talent and think the message behind is work is a powerful one, particularly the New World Circus series, it's not something I personally enjoy.
John Goto is currently Senior Lecturer in Photography at the University of Derby .... he's just down the road!
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