UGH!​

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Project for a contemporary art arcade.

 

The new series of collages from Paolo Giardi reflects his unique approach to art making, which he sometimes refer to as ASAP, Artistic Schizophrenia As Practice.

By assembling a fusion of influences from arcade games, rudimentary Astronomy, pop culture aesthetics and the Dada movement, the works capture the essence of jolly nostalgia, cosmic exploration and avant-garde rebellion through a distinctive visual language.

 

Drawing on the chaotic energy of pinball machines, the free flowing text in the subversive spirit of Futurism and Dadaism, the mystery of the cosmos and the colours and imagery of pop culture, ‘UGH!’ invites the viewers to reconsider the boundaries between art and playfulness, engaging them with the artwork on multiple levels.

 

The individual titles of the pieces are borrowed by the names, or “themes”, of 1960’s and 70’s American pinball games with an added tongue-in-cheek word twist: Heat Wave has been transformed into ‘Meat Wave’, Pit Stop into ‘Piss Stop’ and so on. The titles therefore reveal the presence of an underlying erotic theme throughout the series, further emphasized by the occurrence of randomly placed voids or “black holes” in the compositions.

 

Materials employed are very different in nature: vintage magazine cutting, Letraset lettering and symbols, typed text, hand painted and gradient paper, foam board. By incorporating these tactile elements into his box-framed pieces, the artist adds layers of depth and shadow that enhance the overall impact of his artworks. This innovative use of materials further underscores Giardi’s commitment to push his own limits and reconsider the ways in which art can be experienced and interpreted.