Hope Kroll layers flora and fauna, screws and wheels, to create three-dimensional collages that both haunt and delight. Kroll sources her images from a range of materials including antique books and the internet. Each individual element is meticulously cut, causing the eye to jump from edge to edge. This interaction makes the overall arrangement come alive and buzz with energy. Though Kroll packs her images full, she does so with a careful balance.
Some of Kroll’s collages have a particularly joy and warmth, such as those framing muted vintage faces with bright flowers. Most however, have melancholic or sinister undercurrents. Two of Kroll’s most recent works for example, materialize as tragic operas. In one image, bones are piled in a massive heap; the other features a graveyard for muscular structures. Birds descend upon the decaying flesh and bone, set against a backdrop of sheet music. Viewing Kroll’s work can be a highly visceral experience, inspired not only by the grotesque subject matter, but also by the precise technique that begs close attention and an ever-active gaze.
Toronto based photographer 
On scraps on paper, the drawings of Turkish artist Razi Razavi seem to apparate in a ghostly manner, the artist’s sparse details having both uneasy and captivating effects. Each visage carries its own, private narrative, yet many stare directly into the viewer’s eyes. As you’lll see below, the artist’s practice also extends to painting, yet maintains similar qualities.