{"id":27498,"date":"2015-03-13T09:38:49","date_gmt":"2015-03-13T13:38:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artoronto.ca\/?p=27498"},"modified":"2015-04-02T16:29:04","modified_gmt":"2015-04-02T20:29:04","slug":"douglas-coupland-our-modern-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/?p=27498","title":{"rendered":"Douglas Coupland: Our Modern World"},"content":{"rendered":"

World-renowned artist, Douglas Coupland, dominates Toronto\u2019s art scene with solo exhibitions at the Royal Ontario Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, and the Daniel Faria Gallery. His prevailing central theme, which holds true for all of the exhibits, concerns modern cultural phenomena and their portrayal through existing technologies. However, rather than fixatedly dissect one particular issue, he comments on a broader range of issues and criticisms that exist in our contemporary society throughout his works. Each show is explicitly different from one another and each of the individual works and installations likewise vary in approach, medium, and message while remaining unitary only in their societal commentary. Our Modern World shown at the Daniel Faria Gallery, consists of three different collections of works: “Deep Face”, “Trash Vortex”, and the “Montecristos”. Upon first glance, it is hard to find an overall, pervasive theme, as all are separated by their almost categorical positioning within the space and their distinctive aesthetic qualities. On the other hand, having one domineering theme would be both overwhelming in the small space and insufficient for suitably addressing the complex range of topics we currently face today.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/span>Installation view of Douglas Coupland, Our Modern World <\/em>at Daniel Faria Gallery, 2015<\/span><\/p>\n

“Deep Face” is a series of large multimedia portraits, comprising of a printed black-and-white photographs with an overlaid acrylic-paint pattern covering the subject\u2019s face.\u00a0The patterns, which are never repeated and are specific to their respective subject, seem reminiscent of Pop Art and contemporary design, emphasizing flat, definitively linear shapes and vibrant stock colors.\u00a0Despite this precision, the patterns\u2019 organization seems almost chaotic and inconsistent, as if they were scrambled together to censor or even codify the face. According to Coupland, it focuses on the recent Facebook development of facial recognition algorithms that identify people\u2019s faces in every posted picture.\u00a0He portrays this new development as intrusive and revealing at the same time; it removes any discernable features while simultaneously transcribing it into an entirely new format, one that seems coherent with digital language<\/span>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/a>Installation view of Douglas Coupland, Our Modern World, <\/em>“Deep Face”\u00a0series at Daniel Faria Gallery, 2015<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/span>Installation view of Douglas Coupland, Our Modern World, <\/em>“Deep Face”\u00a0series at Daniel Faria Gallery, 2015<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

“Trash Vortex” concerns the worldwide environmental disaster known as the Pacific Trash Gyre: a mass accumulation of debris and garbage collected from around the world and coalesced by ocean currents.\u00a0The installation consists of several globes coated with drips of toxic paint, all originating from a single point to then weep evenly towards the opposite end.Though each distinct piece has varying starting and ending points as well as individual color palettes, the whole installation nevertheless accentuates the immeasurable damage resulting from society\u2019s overconsumption and excess.\u00a0Beginning as simply a localized problem, it soon resonates into a global pandemic that infectiously spreads to every corner. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/a>Installation view of Douglas Coupland, Our Modern World, <\/em>“Trash Vortex” at Daniel Faria Gallery, 2015<\/span><\/p>\n

What becomes increasingly evident throughout Coupland\u2019s works is his injection of personal perspectives, criticisms and obsessions, rather than adhere to more common arguments.\u00a0“The Montecristos” comprises of 75 collages that \u201creflect the artist\u2019s ongoing fascination with collecting, aggregation and borderline hoarding.\u201d\u00a0He incorporates signs, posters, travel tags, playing cards, cigarette cartons (namely the Montecristo <\/em>brand), stationary, currency, and more, appearing as a compulsive assemblage of popularized images.\u00a0 In its totality, the installation appears as an intricate discord of color and abstraction, and it is not until a closer inspection of each collage that the audience realizes the hackneyed and broadly familiar icons and objects indicative of the existing consumer culture.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Douglas Coupland, Our Modern World,\u00a0<\/em>\u201cTarget Red Yellow Blue” from\u00a0<\/em>Montecristos series, 2015, mixed media on panel<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Installation view of Douglas Coupland, Our Modern World, <\/em>“Montecristos” at Daniel Faria Gallery, 2015<\/span><\/p>\n

Text and photo: Simon Termine<\/span><\/p>\n

*Exhibition information: January 22 – March 21,\u00a02015, Daniel Faria Gallery, 188 St Helens Avenue, Toronto. Gallery hours: Tue\u2013Fri 11\u20136, Sat, 10\u20136 pm.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Simon Termine<\/strong><\/p>\n

What becomes increasingly evident throughout Coupland\u2019s works is his injection of personal perspectives, criticisms and obsessions, rather than adhere to more common arguments.<\/p>\n

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