Toronto, ON, Canada artist Brendan Fernandes

(title unknown)

* All images used with permission. Please do not distribute without first contacting the artist.

About Brendan

Pulsing with a dramatic lighting that signals S-O-S in morse code, this towering installation stands thirty-five feet high. Constructed out of shipping containers it addresses the trauma of migration, displacement and change. Influenced by Moshe Safdie’s utopic Habitat housing scheme produced for the 1967 Montreal Exposition and designed to include all people regardless of class, race or gender, this monumental structure reflects on the failure of this ideology and the susceptibility of these social projects to capitalist forces. Future (Â· Â· Â· – - – Â· Â· Â·) Perfect has a local relevance, reflecting on the politics of gentrification and the displacements inherent to the project of urban renewal.

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9 comments displayed

Aar sadler

12.03.2008 @ 12:34 AM

Thanks for the compliment arrr sadler.

Ashley

12.02.2008 @ 11:05 PM

I love everything about it. I know that some people didn't care for it, but I am definitely impressed by the light affects and what Kendra referred to as "boxy imagery." A beautiful piece, in my opinion.

Arrr sadler

12.02.2008 @ 8:02 PM

double t is right on. so so. nothing all that interesting, profound or impressive.

Frank

12.02.2008 @ 4:13 PM

Big is not always better

Alice

12.02.2008 @ 3:54 PM

First, I have to say that without the explanation I would not come close to guessing what this is meant to portray. I thought this was some sort of geometric building under construction.

Second, I like it very much as displayed here.

But third, being considered a liberal in the US and having had much intercourse with avowed anti-capitalists, one thing I have learned is that most are heavily invested in capitalism. My point is that there is failure in all political systems and I do not find it chic and definitely do not find it productive to emphasize "capitalist" failure. To me, that is a sign of immaturity.

Double t

12.02.2008 @ 3:42 PM

It is like OK soda, kinda familiar, kinda good, but in the end no one really likes it.

Lex

12.02.2008 @ 2:26 PM

unique reminds me of a weird new york style

Kendra

12.02.2008 @ 11:44 AM

I liked the overall effect of light and boxy imagery, but found the artist's commentary to be a bit pretentious. Of course, that could be my own cynicism seeping through.
All in all, though- well done.

Rsadler

12.02.2008 @ 7:31 AM

yea, I really like it. the light, the containers, the scale, the SOS and the discourse on failure of utopian or idealistic schemes.

On the website I discovered that this is not an artist in the traditional sense. He starts with ideas, then devises a way to accomplish it, whatever the actions.

He does not paint and he does not make pieces that can be commodified or displayed in a museum.