Sam's Cabinet of Curiosities

During the lockdown of the Covid-19 pandemic , inspired by the shift of face-to-face activities onto digital platforms, artist Pieter Schoolwerth created the Shifted Sims series of paintings to illustrate the chaotic murkiness in between reality and digital realm. In Shift Sims , illusionistic ghosting effects often serve as the center impression. Specific characters and objects shown multiple times, usually in transparent silhouettes which overlay and transform the background into familiar yet distinctive tone and texture.  Shifted Sims #1 (Get Together)   Shifted Sims #20  For example in  Shifted Sims #20 (YouTuber Career: Impossible Burger Connoisseur) , different combinations of such overlays are used for the narrative. From the title and image proportion, we can tell that the girl with burger is the main focus of the painting. Yet ironically, there is not one intact girl, but instead multiple ghost images of a supposingly common character.  We can see her b...

The artist Danh Vo is a Vietnamese descent, born in a South Vietnamese family during the aftermath of Vietnam War. Following his family to escape Vietnam with improvised boat, he was rescued in the high sea and later granted asylum in Denmark.   M+ Museum, Hong Kong Fostered by his early life experience of assimilating into the European culture, Danh Vo's artworks and practice often exhibit how memories, experiences and beliefs are shared, distributed and transformed across human civilizations. For example in We The People (2011-2016) , the artist borrows from U.S. Constitution and the Statue of Liberty in order to present a notion about liberty with contemporary features and elaborations.  Originally a gift born from France–United States friendship and collaboration, the Statue of Liberty was reproduced with Danh Vo's interpretation. The artist first faithfully re-fabricated 250 or so segments of the Statue with the same processing technique and copper material as the or...