Zan Boag: It has been said that you draw inspiration from the Dutch artists Hieronymus Bosch and Pieter Bruegel. Both had a dark take on humanity’s desires and deepest fears – is that what you’re delving into with your work?
Christopher Spencer (Cold War Steve): Since studying it at Art College in the early ‘90s, I’ve been fascinated by medieval Netherlandish art – in particular Bosch and Bruegel. Initially I was mesmerised by the tiny nightmarish characters that populated the paintings. These appealed to my love of both surrealism and dark humour.
I left art college in 1993 and having failed to get into university, spent over 20 years working in low-paid factory work. I thought that my dream of making a living from art had truly passed me by. The stars aligned when technology meant that I could create collages digitally – I had specialised in collage at college, the old analogue scalpel
