Man Who Cannot Die and Too Close for Comfort. Photo by Dustin Buckley.
Australian artist David “Meggs” Hooke, opened his solo exhibition “Spoiled Rotten” at Inner State Gallery in Detroit on September 19. Using explosive bursts of colors and raw layers of texture, “Spoiled Rotten” explores themes of consumerism and over-obsession with pop culture as Hooke takes iconic images such as Mickey Mouse and yellow smiley faces and exposes their disposability.
The pieces maintain a dual nature of beauty and decay, with sections of vivid detail giving way chaotic splatters of paint. Many pieces in the exhibition address duality head on, with the line between colorful vitality and drab despair going right down the middle of them.
In preparing for the exhibition, Hooke took to the streets of Detroit, gathering various materials to paint on from abandoned buildings and peeling layers off of decaying billboards during his five week residency in the city. “Spoiled Rotten” will be on display at Inner State Gallery until October 11.
Guests at the opening reception. Photo by Mike Popso.
Guests at the opening reception. Photo by Sal Rodriguez.
Rising Up, Back on the Street. Photo by Dustin Buckley.
Beauty in Decay
What Goes Up. Photo by Dustin Buckley.
No Place for a Hero and Reclaimed Youth. Photo by Dustin Buckley.
Photo by Mike Popso.
Meggs scavenging for found objects in an abandoned building in Detroit. Photo by Miya Tsukazaki.
Photo by Miya Tsukazaki.
Photo by Miya Tsukazaki.