STREET ART DRAWINGS 2005
ATTACK OF THE MECHA-BUSINESS ROBOT!STREET ART COMICS! An enormous technological monstrosity hovers over the pedestrian traffic. Feeding on the cogs and filing denizens through a video screen factory, the beast grows like an unwanted plant, breeding around eardrums and in idle hands. Lost in the flickering televisions, young business people are perpetually decapitated in wake of new media brain transplants. Somewhere amidst the grinding gears an anomaly occurs, a figure forces his way out of the predetermined execution, dons a mask and cape, and escapes as “HARRISON B”! The hero soars off page, seemingly miniscule in comparison to our opponent, yet virtuously enthusiastic and driven by a paranormal determination. 4 x 12 foot, Ink on Paper, 5 hour- performance, Canadian Street Art, 2005. 2005.ARTIST'S STATEMENTSThis large scale ink on paper performance artwork was created live on Queen West, Toronto, during my second season investigating the metropolis as a public performer. At this time an increasing amount of technological insects could be seen crawling all over passers-by, and Toronto was extensively decorated with silhouetted figures on neon backgrounds promoting the infestation. As a result of my perpetual inquiry, and particular vantage point, the characters in the ink drawings became simultaneously more recognizable as both man and machine. The terror induced by the invasion and assimilation facilitated the conception of a protagonist. Inspired by a short Vonnegut story, and in protest of the events being documented,“HARRISON B.” smashes his way out of the billboards & gears, aggressively flying off the right hand side of the page. Will “HARRISON B.” suffer the same fate as the literary super-being he was named after?
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