Kisarauske Interview
Kisarauske Interview
"Through large-scale works that probe contemporary culture, advertising and the ruin, Fergus Cooper harnesses pleasing dissonance from décollaged symbols, words and images. The finished works self-evidently show the process of their creation, paradoxically through the process of their destruction. The viewer’s eyes dart around the billboard-sized works, piecing together the shredded remains of corporate slogans, product photos and stock backgrounds. Veiny, wheatpasted textures and shard-like rips act as familiar surface textures the viewer associates with seeing these type of advertisements on the street. Cooper’s works are assembled from more perfectly scattered fragments which have a durational aspect to them, with some quite advanced compositional structures concealing and melding multiple layers which only become apparent as they are picked through by the viewer over a period of time."
- Herb Shellenberger, 2017
fergcooper@hotmail.com
insta: @fergcooper
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"Fergus Cooper's work has been dividing opinion with our audience this month, which as far as we're concerned makes it all the more interesting.
Currently an artist in residence at the Florence Trust, London, Fergus graduated with an MA in Fine Art from Central Saint Martins in 2017.
These works play with tropes of religious iconography, and how those might fit within modern commercial-led society.The resulting work is witty and thought-provoking; in "Family Bucket", cherubs - their vision obscured by KFC buckets - preside over a virtuous mother as she cradles chicken nuggets and chips in her arms. In "Mother Rihanna", a similarly saintly figure is enshrined in a Frosties robe. Each piece borrows from the glossary of the works which inform the series; traditional guilt frames, a backdrop of gold leaf, vibrant colours reminiscent of stained glass.
They certainly spark my interest, and I'd invite you all to explore this unusual shrine to modernity with us this month."
- art-hub.co.uk, May 2018
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