Want Me? by Simon Dredge

Listening to the Pet Shop Boys and Blondie on my headphones and desperately trying to figure out what I was and how I found what I thought I was looking for. Making the journey to London to find Clone Zone and newsagents that sold magazines with pictures of men in them.

Already obsessed with Jarman. I was only 15 and too young to understand, but I wanted more of this life. Confusion and a slow-burning ache were always present, but I was never disgusted with myself. I knew what I wanted was right for me.

The images on these three plates were so attractive to me. Three different types of guys who were communicating with me through their photos.

They said to me, come on and join our tribe.The preppie with his 80s gay yuppie look staring at me. The denim guy with a slightly threatening look.The man on the phone is calling me!
These men were my fantasies, and I loved them but hated that I couldn’t be with them or actually be them. I still love this imagery almost 40 years later.

Porcelain, ceramic slips, acrylic, mixed media collage. Varnish and lacquer 

43cm diameter