Ian F. Thomas
To Nowhere
Thomas Hunter Project Space
Hunter College
New York, NY
Cast ceramic, Glass Reinforced Gypsum, Steel, 2019
Metaphorical symbology lays thick: rising tides and boats, the 1% will never be occupied, or “life of pi” meets “an inconvenient truth.” Choose your insoluble outrage.
The cartoonish style –all buffoonish 4-digit hands— allows a brief moment of child-like acceptance, which reflects our reduction of the complex into absorbable “truths.” With each “hand” demanding salvation from above, the desperate clambering buoys “hope” away. Thomas’ dark pragmatism exposes that, even when all boats rise, nothing changes. Tragically, we ignore the obvious: the boat is a distraction, too small to save anyone; a paddleless toy yawing on populist desire.
~ Ryder Richards
images courtesy of the artist
