Tibi Tibi Neuspiel's provocatively named Housewarming Gifts for Anorexics, his second solo exhibition at Narwhal Gallery, has given us food for thought with a side of humour. Creating a series of housewares using IKEA products as starting points
(mirrors, a clock, a lamp), which he then adorns with fake food assemblages,
Neuspiel deftly subverts practical objects into artworks while allowing them to
retain their original purpose. The interactive pieces work on several levels: you see yourself in the
mirror, you check the time on the clock; but then you're drawn in deeper by the precision, comedy and iconic nature of the faked food and are left smiling and
thinking.
Referencing Van Gogh
in one of his mirror pieces, Neuspiel has a similar intent as the impressionist
maverick: to decorate his own living space. While intuitively creating work for
his own enjoyment, Neuspiel has made a series that sparks questions about our
relationships with food, disposable design, reality vs the cultural idea of
reality, and the purpose of art in the home.
Runs July 19 - August 18th at 2988 Dundas West
Photographs courtesy of Narwhal Projects
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