For Bert Mebius, Dinah Danish / Jean Baptiste Maitre and Catherine Biocca, the art of throwing away is an integral part of making. They work with a multitude of source material. Everything that comes their way can transform into art; images from the internet, everyday, recent art, ancient art, text, comics, etc. etc. What connects their work is a certain tongue in cheekness, a sais ne qua non, but one that never becomes arbitrary.
Catherina Biocca shows sculptures of cat heads "Trace Evidence" wrapped in Persian carpets along with cartoonish paintings of 17th century naval battles printed on vinyl that has been painted with acrylic. Her images sometimes come directly from the computer; from science fiction films to trashy comics. Biocca shows the violent side of people, but in a way that is both entertaining and disturbing.
Danish Danish and Jean Baptiste Maitre have just completed a residency in Italy where they have created the works shown. They are linocuts with representations of the two-dimensional images of computer protagonists from games that are reminiscent of Egyptian reliefs from tombs. "Nude caved skin", “Egyptian Carved Skin”, “Medieval Carved Skin”. As with the other work of Danish, she is once again prying the burden of the historical by giving it a contemporary twist.
Bert Mebius started with cartoonish drawings on A4 where art and life in general were commented on in a superior way. Nowadays Mebius also works on larger sizes and makes increasing use of paint and color. Yet the muddy color palette and the thick brushstroke still contribute to the conceptual content of the work.
