NYAB Event - Christophe Roberts “Journey of a Thousand Eyes”

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At Lyons Wier Gallery
Media: Crafts

By collecting and re-purposing Nike shoeboxes, Christophe Roberts creates striking and meaningful life-size sculptures of wild animals that invite the viewer to consider the environmental impact of the production, sale and consumption of consumer goods.

Made with found materials, spray paint, cardboard and glue, minus the aid of blueprints, Roberts’ beasts are constructed in a freestyle manner from the depths of the artist’s imagination. The sculptures can at once be viewed as visual metaphors for consumerism and society’s general disregard for its wastefulness. Nike’s main advertising pitch aims at convincing the public that their product can impart health, physical acumen and sexual allure. However, the by-product of this positioning is tons of waste generated by the disposal of the packaging itself.

One’s immediate reaction to Roberts’ work is that it could be an exaltation of corporate branding. Upon further examination it becomes clear that Roberts is using art to remind of us that the animals he creates are being destroyed by the very medium he employs, consumer waste.

Whether Roberts’ is admiring or admonishing societal norms, he is certainly addressing it ironically. The very strength and power of his sculptures is surely put in harm’s way by the actual medium of his message. However, by re-purposing these raw abandoned geometric receptacles, he renders connotations of renewal and possibility.

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