SPECTRUM

I found out several months ago that a few of my pieces were going to be included in the latest edition of Spectrum, but since then I had been wondering how they going to be layed out, given my long vertical compositions. I was afraid that they would be crunched down to half a page and the detail would be lost. When I received my copy of Spectrum 17 in the mail last week I was happy to see that not only were the images printed full page size, but they were also bundled together in a little spread (along with a nice piece by Ching Cia Ee).

As usual the book is loaded with amazing work, with a nice mix of styles and mediums. There is also a nice balance of representation between Spectrum regulars and new comers. Throw in a great piece by Fearless and you have a really nice art book.

DYSTOPIC (ventilate)

Michael at Ventilate asked me to be part of their latest poster series. Ventilate had featured some of my work a few months back and their site is great (check it out), so I was more than happy to say yes and work with them. When I found out that the theme of the series was "dystopia" I couldn't help but be a little disappointed. I had worked on a number of dystopic projects over the last few years and I was kind of tied of the whole genre. But I soon got over that, really enjoyed creating the piece and was pretty happy with the end result.

The geometric forms in this work, that represent the ideas of intolerance, discrimination, and conformity, have taken on the form of a cityscape. This city, with its monotonous forms and dull, limited palette is meant to portray a dystopian society, perhaps one that has become violently egalitarian. The cosmonaut represents the non-conformist (the artist, the magician, the outsider), unable and unwilling to submit to the limited regime of the majority. His mind remains high above, "in the clouds", holding on to the fragments of a life now lost. But he nurtures and cradles a hope (here displayed as a sage plant), a hope for a better and more fulfilling future.

This poster is available for free download, at print resolution (24"x 36" @300 dpi), at the Ventilate website.

Thanks to Michael Brown, and everyone at Ventilate for inviting me to be a part of this project.

CARNE MAGAZINE

I was invited to contribute a few pieces to the current issue of Carne Magazine. Carne is an online visual arts magazine based out of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Every issue is packed with a great selection of photography, design, illustration, street art, etc. by artists from all over the world. It is definitely worth checking out. Download Issue #6 here.

I had to crop a number of pieces as the template of the magazine didn't really work well with the aspect ratios of my work, but I think in the end it turned out well, and gave the images a new perspective.

Thanks to Ignacio Sauri Torres for inviting me to be part of this issue.