British Council

As an undergraduate Deacon had been involved in performance art and although he was accepted for the experimental post-graduate course at the Royal College of Art on the basis of his performance work, by the time he actually arrived there he had come to feel that the products of his performance situations could stand on their own; his public presence, in whatever guise, was unnecessary. He decided simply to make objects henceforth. This decision led him to look for appropriate materials, for something that was serviceable and readily to hand but not burdened with strong traditions or perceptions. Deacon viewed material as the stuff which did the job most suitably, rather than as something to be valued for its metaphorical or sensual qualities, even though at times these qualities may become crucial to the final work as in Boys and Girls.