Faculty of Art

Drawing and Painting

Gerry Visco

Metahomoviom 1

The gestural presentation of the repurposed metal sheeting references a body that can be interpreted to be human or even of a prehistoric subject. The positioning of the subject in a recessed box form constructed of plywood repurposed from tract housing construction suggests a catacomb. The work is meant to be a symbolic foreshadowing of a relic made to represent the human race. As the name suggests ‘after the humans’ which is a hybrid of Latin and Greek Metahomoviom 1.

“My practice begins by referencing the iconography found in traditional artworks. Using these visual images as a starting point I begin to gather materials from sites that have been slated for redevelopment. These objects come from remnants of building structures along with fixtures that at one time were used for manufacturing or agriculture. I also collect organic materials, grasses, hay and reeds that grow within the perimeters of these sites in and amongst the boarded up abandoned buildings or along the stretches of vacant land. The resulting work is a combination of both painting and sculpture, which is an integral relationship between these two disciplines in order to create a spatial presence in relation to the viewer. The work also conveys a purposeful sense of ambiguity that invites the audience in for an experience of discovery. As the exploration of the work begins an embrace of the senses is triggered through the works materiality, and iconographic imagery. This allows the finished pieces to become a participatory experience as opposed to just being observed. This reiteration of symbols and forms of the past combined with repurposed materials from the present speak to an organized whole that is meant to be perceived more than just the sum of its parts. ”