Mo’s! Spitter and Dribble

Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Chantal Crousel, Paris

'if I put a me in d'bright day
light, who'd notice?it was mere[ly]dream....'

David Douard created a solo presentation for Caferiye Han, The Moving Museum Istanbul's headquarters, built in the 19th century and still an active workplace and production studio complex for apparel, hats, and uniforms. Brussels-based wave electro DJ Buntlax, a long-time collaborator of the artist, hosted a special event after the exhibition preview.

The exhibition space was completely empty apart from the artist's floor-to-ceiling sculptural assemblage. At its base a glass tank housed burnt, stained and painted figurines bedded in hay, wrapped in plastic, and hung from chains. The work's modified figures recalled Salvador Dali’s irreverent paintings over existing bronze sculptures, adding a macabre bondage element. Some have had their torsos moulded and painted like Guy Fawkes masks - a symbol seen in local Occupy protests. A similar form of cosmetic alteration was employed by the artist in his exhibition' 'at Palais de Tokyo earlier that year, in which he sculpted faces into the bellies of heavily-customised mannequins. Positioned across the road from several retail shops and visible from the street Douard's installation formed a kind of abject window-dressing of its own.

The artist often incorporates an artwork's title within the work itself, producing stylised typographic designs on customised display hardware. Here, a mesh canopy hung from the ceiling around a vinyl banner on which the text 'Mo’s! Spitter and Dribble' was printed in an ultra-thick sans-serif font above an image of red liquid splashing. Douard's sculptural assemblage combines commercial, political, and sexual iconographies in an intimate response to the time and place of his residency in Istanbul.

David Douard (b. 1983, Perpignan) is an artist living and working in Aubervilliers. He is a graduate of École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Art, Paris. Selected solo exhibitions include Galerie Chantal Crousel, Paris; Union Pacific, London; Cura.Basement, Rome; Fahrenheit, Flax Foundation, Los Angeles, 2015; Johan Berggren Gallery, Malmö; Sculpture Center, New York; Palais de Tokyo, Paris, 2014; Signal Center for Contemporary Art, Malmö , 2013; Rongwrong, Amsterdam, 2012; Chez Valentin, Paris, 2011. Recent group shows include Musée d’Art moderne de la Ville de Paris; Fridericianum, Kassel, 2015; David Roberts Art Foundation (DRAF), London; Biennale de Taipei, 2014; Astrup Fearnley Museet, Oslo, 2014; 12th Biennale de Lyon, T293, Rome; Galerie Kamm, Berlin; Gasconade, Milan, 2013; Fondation d’entreprise Ricard, Paris, 2012.