The Briggs family album, to which the artist often has recourse, is both a curse and a blessing: it certainly recalls momentary joys of childhood, but it also reminds Briggs of the role he was obliged to play in the ‘performances’ directed by his father. Now Briggs-the-artist has the upper hand, proving Wordsworth’s famous observation, “the child is the father of the man.”

Text by William A Ewing