‘Morden’ was produced as a direct result of the unexpected success of ‘Tassels’, but the artist himself seems to find it hard to summarise its appeal. Shuffling uneasily on his crutch he places the weight of his body onto his shattered left leg and regards the flag from a near horizontal plane. He strokes the grey stubble that covers his head thoughtfully
‘Ah yes.. my ‘difficult’ second flag…very much a transitional piece, although it does introduce some new elements, notably the lettering that becomes integral to my later work.’
Pressed as to it’s obvious symbolic resonance - as witnessed by phenomenal poster sales to young students, Fleydon seems bemused. "Of course it’s rooted in a sense of place and Morden symbolises a certain craving and a yearning for excess. ‘Morden/More-than’ is an obvious play on words, hence the two crests. But really, despite its popularity it is one of my least revolutionary works." He looks embarrassed for a while before his pale face lights up with pride. "It brings in the money though and being featured as a running gag in ‘Only Fools And Horses’ really helped my profile – so maybe
I should be more grateful than I am!"
Disconcertingly he winked his jet-black glass-eye at me in conspiratorial way and leered again at my photographer before moving along to one of the most influential of modern artworks.
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