by Luisa De la Concha Montes
This isn’t a standard play. Half artist manifesto, half PowerPoint presentation, this extremely artistic present explores the life and work of artist Chris Dobrowlski. The setting for this present couldn’t be extra excellent. Nestled between mannequin practice tracks and classic toys, Chris’ efficiency takes place inside Brighton’s Toy Museum (which, funnily sufficient, can be under Brighton’s practice station).
As we enter the venue, we’re requested to have a look at a video taking part in on an previous tv set, which can be Chris’ work. On the display screen, there’s a mannequin automotive going round in circles on prime of a stack of papers with the lockdown authorities pointers. We see a mannequin toy model of Boris Johnson and Telegraph and Guardian newspaper sellers sporting masks, whereas “I’m Bored” by Iggy Pop performs within the background. This units the temper for the present, making clear that humour is embedded into Chris’ visible language.
The present opens with Chris launching himself totally into amusing self-deprecation. We instantly study that he’s the textbook definition of a failed artist, as he’s nonetheless dwelling together with his mom, and his studio is definitely her shed. He takes us on a life-tour, outlining what it was wish to dwell in post-war Essex with a Polish dad and a British mum.
Chris intercalates movies of his artwork installations with household images, and private anecdotes. Failure turns into a operating idea within the present. He talks about how, in his remaining 12 months, he tried to construct a ship to flee artwork school. The boat sank, however it resulted in Chris being invited to different universities across the nation to speak about how to not make a dwelling as an artist. Sarcastically, he remarks how his preliminary try at escaping artwork school ended up in him coming again for a few years as a lecturer.
Politics can be a distinguished matter within the present. He talks about fascism, explaining how his dad escaped Poland through the Second World Battle. He additionally contains his very blunt opinions in regards to the present political atmosphere. He reveals us the artwork items he has made about Priti Patel’s anti-immigration insurance policies, and Boris Johnson’s response to the pandemic, making a poignant level in regards to the connection between fascism then and now.
The entire efficiency is a journey, actually and metaphorically. We get to know Chris’ fixation with Scalextric automotive units, mannequin planes and development toys. However relatively than being a wierd obsession, we perceive there’s extra to it. Car making turns into Chris’ metaphor for development, an ode to childhood, and a approach of wanting inwards by wanting again.
This present is way faraway from the stuffiness of the artwork world. The language it makes use of strikes past inaccessible ‘art-speak’, and as an alternative invitations us to see up to date artwork as a hilarious, absurd and shifting occasion. Extra gallery opening press releases must be written within the model of Chris Dobrowlski.
Toy Tales ran by way of 21 Could.
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