By Irene Loghlin
Compelling, controvertial and ironically humourous, the recent body of work by Cuban artist Julio Ferrer draws the viewer into a world that considers the politics of consumption. Ferrer will present the exhibition IPODer - a series of silkscreen prints of the long time Cuban leader Fidel Castro imprinted on iPods. The work references the hybrid nature of youth culture globally, wich imagines the merger of Cuban cultural heroes with popular music forms and North American distribution. The exhibit explores the accumulation and desire for objects and information in an era where global consumption threatens sustainability.
"Pop art is all about consumer culture, and we consume things in Cuba,
it's just that we consume older materials", he said.
Ferrer credits pop artists such as Andy Warhol, Cuban Artist Raul Martinez
and his grandfather as the main influences on his work. But he is not afraid
to appropiate the work of other artists as well, and has recently incorporated
the iconography of Japanisse artist, Hokusai's wave into his artwork, relating
the image to immigration.
Ferrer said hes art has never been censored in his native country, despite
the fact that it deals with political issues and eroticism.
"Cuban culture is supportive of contemporary art", he said. Cubans
are well educated, prepared to think, and curious about other peoples' opinions
and viewpoints".
Ferrer came to Canada after he was invited to attend an artist residensy in Canada and later exhibited at the Spence Gallery in Toronto. He worked in Hamilton to produce this new body of work.