Flag Commission, 2024
Sean-Kierre Lyons’s dragon-like gargoyle flying above Somerset House is a creature drawn from the tradition of fantastical stone grotesques protecting the buildings they preside over against evil spirits. In her practice, the grotesque and the cute are often brought together andthen pulled to extremes; like a double-edged sword, the horror is counterbalanced with positivity and whimsy. Much of Lyons’s work draws from cartoon animation, specifically its historical roots in minstrelsy and lineage of racist caricature. This creature references the 1990s TV cartoon Gargoyles and is one of nine ‘protector gods’ that she has been developing to build a new world order. Lyons’s gods are autonomous and complex beings, both violent and menacing, but also adorably cute.