2011 > Tropicalia

Apparition
charcoal on paper
94 x 52 in
2011
Wall
charcoal on paper
41.5 x 52 in
2011
Pathway
charcoal on paper
44.5 x 72 in
2011
Sun of Omens
charcoal on paper
52 x 81 in
2011
Icarus complex
charcoal on paper
44.5 x 86 in
2011
Choreography of Power
red pastel on paper
89 x 52 in
2011
Navajas del Silencio
red pastel on paper
30 x 80 in
2011
RGB Series
pencil on paper
81.5 x 52 in
2011
Alma del Ocio
charcoal on paper
16.5 x 16.5 in
2011
Blank
charcoal on paper
16.5 x 16.5 in
2011
Fireflies
charcoal on paper
16.5 x 16.5 in
2011
Thus Spoke the TV God
charcoal on paper
16.5 x 16.5 in
2011

“Tropicalia” examines ideas of dislocation and exoticism through a series of large-scale drawings. Cross-cultural and hybrid identities are explored through obvious and clichéd aspects of tropical culture together with Rococo and Victorian style elements.

The struggle to imagine cultural specificity is inherent in the intersection of extravagant and decadent 17th and 18th century imagery (chandeliers, mirrors, velvet curtains) together with exuberant tropical landscapes. Different strategies are employed in order to subordinate the contradictory into a delicate and imaginative order, with the aim of questioning notions of place and belonging. As the past, the present, the exotic and the familiar collide, absurd and fantastic panoramas arise.