David Borawski

I create conceptually driven work comprised of sculpture, video, drawing and digital prints. The work reflects upon iconic cultural and societal events or moments that have influenced major shifts in our collective consciousness, but now may be near the point of forgetting.

For each exhibition, I combine and arrange multiple elements and mediums, which invoke visual and cognitive signs, or “clues,” that elicit a (sub)conscious nostalgia, building multiple layers of information to be considered and processed.

Both expressed and implied references to pop culture, social justice, art history and the dark alleys of society, all the while drawing upon lived personal experience, suggest connections and idiosyncrasies while exposing them as uncanny precursors to present-day realities.

I was in art school in the late 70s, and Sol and his compatriots were either hitting their stride or coming up. I embraced the theory and aesthetic of the conceptual art movement. Art that doesn’t have to be pretty or appeal to everyone, did not have to be neutral, did not have to be consumable and was inherently intellectual, deeply inspired me. Sol’s work was systematic, calculated, precise, yet, each installation based on the interpretation of the instructions and the location could be different. Quite an amazing development, and very cool. It's about looking and thinking. Not a negation of art, but a negation of preconceived notions of what art is and should be.

Unlike sol and his peers, I trust art can and should be political and have an influence on ideas with reflection on current events and their connection to history. All political ideology is based on a set of learned reactions, and the political spectrum is stuck in these preconceived and taught ideologies. Hopefully engaging viewers with visual stimulation and questions can at least cause a moment of introspection. Art should inspire, challenge and disturb.

My work is not as controlled or precise by any means, but the long held influence of variation and repetition has played a huge role in my work. Installations and “finished pieces” can be changed and deconstructed, that is what i embrace in my work. Each unique  space need to be addressed in an individual way. Some pieces need to be adjusted, some have always needed to be changed even if they were perfect the first time.

The installation for this exhibition is titled “Boredom, Vice and Want” (a quote from Voltaire). with its three elements referencing both current and historical reflections on the state of current contemporary art in general, as well as the state of current partisan politics and the increasing climate crisis. It refers to the “end” of art/life that is always being predicted. Drawing upon the lyrics from the Doors epic song “The End” to Joseph Kosuth’s diatribe on object, the future’s uncertain and the end is always near my friend, and always has been.

https://www.rot8tor.org/