The work produced for this exhibition comes from Humphries' trip to South America in 2003. Specifically, time spent in Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador and Peru.
Humphries' art practise revolves around observing and deciphering in his own visual language, peoples daily habits, the way they dress, their religious practises and their spiritual and physical journeys.
"When I travel I am an accumulator of designs, graphics and script that catch my eye wether it be on packaging, advertising or just general paraphernalia that I collect along the way. I pay attention to the obscure or the obvious in what I find to be quirky to the country and people I visit.
For example, the painting, "Oriente Petrolero, Pasion De Multitude" comes from the logo off one of the local football teams in Bolivia. What caught my eye was the wonderful graphics on the foam mat we were given to sit on for the game. Similarly, "Aucas, Los De Abajo" uses a local football team logo, which is juxtaposed with the infamous Andean mountainous region.
I have used script/type in a lot of these works, mainly as a reference to postcards. The concept of the postcard interests me as a traveller. The image of the perfect scenario that is often presented to us on a postcard is not always the case.
Passion runs deep within the blood of most South American's. All the people I encountered , could possibly lay claim to this phenomena! From an outsiders point of view I am trying to convey to the viewer with this body of work, the strong sense of passion for culture, history, sport and natural wonders that engulfs you where ever you go in South America."
Conceptually Humphries' works are playful and acute visual commentaries that are based upon reflections on the world of travel, popular culture, mass-media, electronic information and the ephemeral in daily life.
"I call my works diaristic journals. My exhibitions are a visual diary. The more I travel and the older I get- the more acute my observations.
I feel that my nomadic quality energises my thoughts and my works." Chris Humphries
Humphries brings a uniquely Australian perspective to his work, particularly through his exploration of the Aussie traveller abroad.
The works are intense, multicoloured and precise.
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