DeTrOiTuS MaSks
April 20 to June 2, 2019
These masks are sculptural gesture drawings. By gesture I mean direct, without over-thinking. That doesn’t mean they are quick–that flash of response saying this mask wants to have, for instance, a thinner exhaust pipe section requires cutting, bending and welding. Even when that alteration is complete, another may be needed–it may still not feel right. This face wants to be brought into the world and I have to be midwife with an angle grinder and a MIG welder.
I work by response and not pre-conceived ideas. These car parts and shovels speak to me—if they stop speaking, I put them away until I find their voice again.
We’ve lost our landscapes to cars. There are too many of them. We need to wake up and see what we’ve done. Also, cars get junked at an incredible rate so there are lots of parts for me to work with.
About the Artist
Jeff Mann started sculpture in 1998 and has had numerous solo and group shows in the US Northeast and Ontario. He has been involved in schools doing mini public art projects. Other projects involved autoworkers and residents of public housing in Oshawa.
Mann lives in Kingston, Ontario, and he works out of a shipping container.
He prefers to work by response rather than narration or representation.
All of his work involves car parts or car related designs. His interest in this theme stems from his belief that there are too many cars in the world.