Dan Hays’ early works were paintings of guinea pigs, and later their cages. In the late 1990s he painted eight cages that were optical explorations of the contrast of the illusionistic cage against a flat background. During this process he constructed a 3D computer model of a cage enabling him to view the bars from all points. “Cages are ambiguous objects. They both confine and protect. They are a simple metaphor for the human condition or creative process: I have always been drawn to the magical quality of lenticulars. Their association with kitsch and with religious imagery really appealed to me... I returned to the computer model of the cage which seemed wholly appropriate to develop as a lenticular with its strong 3D nature and contemplative feel. Rendering the image in pastoral greens and blues for Sanctuary contrasts with the sinister connotations of a cage as something that separates the occupant from nature”.

Multiplication, The British Council 2001 text © The Multiple Store