Am I replica of someone that you loved?

Sam Keelan (b. 1992)

RA Collection: Art

On free display in The Julia and Hans Rausing Hall

Sam Keelan, (b. 1992, Huddersfield), studied at the Royal Academy Schools from 2016-2019. This photograph won the RA Schools Keeper's Purchase Prize in 2019.

Am I replica of someone that you loved? was originally exhibited with a group of works exploring Keelan's interest in what he describes as 'the unease created by our quest for a constant succession of only positive emotions, and the inevitable fallout that comes when we fail to live up to our own high expectations'. This work juxtaposes several unexpected elements, set in the car park behind Anthony Gormley's famous Angel of the North sculpture in Gateshead with the artist dressed as an angel posing for a photograph while perched on top of a car. In common with much of Keelan's photography, films and writing, the image demonstrates his interest in creating works through 'a lens of camp unease'. Taking elements from other genres like horror cinema - in particular the sense of discomfort and exaggerated actions - Keelan places them into scenes of the mundane, everyday world.

Keelan also describes his interest in exploring the internal conflicts within characters who are commited to presenting 'one constructed aspect of themselves and the level of truth they lose or gain through doing this'. The title of this work, highlighting the concept of replicas and copies, references not only constructed identities but also, on a much broader level, the tradition of representing the human body in sculpture and the reproduction of sculptural forms.

(Quotations cited from the artist's statement from his RA Schools show 2019)