Exhibitions

SEIZAN GALLERY TOKYO DECO places its focus on individual artworks by introducing prominent pieces by individual artists, one at a time. The piece chosen to color the beginning of 2021 is by the French artist ALBEN. The artist’s work pairs universally well-known icons with elements that diverge in substance to create unique compositions.

Gun Vader
2017
h90×42×27 cm
Resin, toy guns

 

To fuel my work, I roam garage sales and flea markets all year round.
Exploring societies through what they throw away inevitably leads to the study of social relationships, of which the garbage is a product. In the Neolithic period, ceramics — which are products of the molecular transformation of clay by cooking – became the first sustainable waste in human history and were already contributing to the formation of social hierarchies. Today, they are used by archaeologists to read the cultural evolution and circulation of the past.

My stance could be seen as that of an archaeologist of the present, one who has come to scrutinize currently existing societies and tries to point out their contradictions, thus expressing the complexity of human beings.

Objects that have surpassed their expiry date are obsolete, recycled, or reused; they are the product of multiple temporalities. My work questions the traces they leave behind and their irreplaceability, exploring what has been but will never be again.

Behind the infinite diversity that it displays on the surface, the Star Wars saga actually clings to a well-established set of codes. The viewer wavers between familiar dualities, both from the point of view of feelings and values..

In the Star Wars universe, Darth Vader is arguably the most interesting character. He was able to shift from being a feared and hated character in episodes IV, V and VI to that of a child, and then a teenager facing multiple traumas. He therefore offers the viewer many possibilities for identification.

When creating Darth Vader Plastic Guns, I looked for black objects. Black is a fundamental element in the representation of the character. I also wanted to touch on the question of Darth Vader’s psychological flaws, which are largely explained by his difficult childhood. From an early age, he supported his mother, a slave like himself, while his father was absent. This is the root of his fear of abandonment as an adult.

When I browse flea markets, I don’t look for anything specific. Rather, I just make finds. Plastic guns are the boy’s toy that I spontaneously find in larger quantities.
The accumulation of these plastic, and thus apparently harmless objects, is a metaphor of Darth Vader’s shift toward “the dark side of the force”. Darth Vader doesn’t need a gun to kill; he is a weapon in and of himself

08/01/2021(fri) -  29/01/2021(fri)

11:00-17:00
※ Open by appointment only during this exhibition on Saturdays.
※ Closed on Sundays and holidays.

Please contact us from here for appointment and any further enquiries.