Big Sausage 1978

Patrick Caulfield gave us ‘Big Sausage’ with printmaking techniques, and it's like he's winking at the viewer. Caulfield’s way of simplifying reality through flat planes of colour and stark outlines is a way of understanding and processing the world. The colours grab you first – that royal blue backdrop and the contrasting hues of the sausage itself. It’s all so graphic and punchy. The surface is smooth, and there are no brushstrokes. It’s like he’s flattened the image, taking away all the depth. Notice the little details: the precise lines that define the sausage and the almost cartoonish rendering of the string around it. This sausage is not just a sausage; it’s an idea of a sausage, something playfully artificial. He reminds me a bit of Lichtenstein, but with a distinctly British sensibility. Both artists embrace simplicity and flatness, using everyday objects as subjects, turning them into bold statements. It's a reminder that art can be found in the most unexpected places, and that meaning is always up for grabs.