Michael Craig-Martin’s self-titled exhibition opened at the Royal Academy of Arts on September 21st and is open until December 10th.

The exhibition itself is Craig-Martin’s most comprehensive to date in the UK, comprising of his early conceptual student works in the 1960s, to his most well-known compositions, many of which consist of everyday items which have been painted in bright, eye-catching colours and thick, dark outlines.

An Irish-born artist and painter, Craig-Martin was born in 1941 in Dublin, Ireland. He grew up in Washington D.C. and was raised Catholic – something that inspired many of his conceptual artworks through religious imagery and scripture. He went on to study Fine Art at the Yale School of Art and Architecture, after which he moved to Britain. Since then, he has experimented with a variety of mediums and techniques, including painting, drawing, sculpture, installation and printmaking.

The start of the exhibition begins before you even take a step into the Academy itself – with wired sculptures depicting household objects, such as headphones, paperclips and high heels, which are scattered amongst the courtyards.

As you walk into the gallery, the challenging yet thought-provoking piece ‘An Oak Tree’ is on display. It consists of a glass of water propped up by a shelf, which changes “into a full-grown oak tree without altering the accidents of the glass of water.”

At first glance, it seems ridiculous.

But, after thinking about it for quite a while, it did seem true that in fact – it was an oak tree.

Through my own viewpoint as a Catholic myself, the piece had an inextricable comparison to that of Transubstantiation, the belief in the literal transformation of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ.

As the journey through the exhibition continues, you witness Craig-Martin’s developing style through the late 1970s, with minimalism being taken to the extreme. For example, his series “Pictures within Pictures” demonstrates his recycling of paintings found in London flea markets. By inserting these into the top-left corner of blank canvases, he redefined the paintings through “completely chang[ing] their meaning without changing them at all.”

In the rooms following this, Craig-Martin’s compositions consist of “drawings” on graph paper, which are made using intricately cut crepe tape. Craig-Martin created these works in the hopes of becoming “styleless”, but ironically ended up creating his own recognisable style.

Many of the galleries contain Craig-Martin’s most identifiable works, which depict household objects, such as laptops, coffee cups and French fries. Although his style may be repetitive, the strange contrast of colours and saturation highlights modern mass-consumerism and production – a metaphor for the disposability that these items have.

Towards the end of the exhibition, a purpose-made digital installation is available to watch. Using four 4K projectors and a surround sound system, Craig-Martin invites us to observe the digital expression of his work over the past 45 years.

Taken altogether, this was an enlightening experience of Craig-Martin’s work, thoughtfully curated to take you on a journey of his craft through distinctly different chapters of his life.

And a bonus – under 16s get to see the exhibition for free!