Denial
Make Something Beautiful 12 Inch Edition
Edition Size: 25
12 x 12 x 2 inch aerosol on wood
$70
Ever notice that the word DEFIANCE is practically synonymous with DENIAL? In the healthiest sense - as if both words echo a reluctance to accept things as they are or to passively acquiesce to a moribund status quo. Fitting therefore that the Canadian artist who chose the latter word for a public name is here expressing a rebellious spirit of optimism and once again giving a refreshing dash of visual irony to one of street art's most recurring motifs. Like many of his peers working in the same medium.
DENIAL recognizes that the urban landscape - that wonderland, playground, battleground of a post-industrial world - is actually richer in hope than we're inclined to imagine; and this particular piece (copies of which he intends to place throughout the environs of Toronto) is a clear expression of that sentiment. The message printed so boldly (significantly on a hand-made object) is both a plea and an impatient command; take the materials you find, the discarded detritus of the past, and revitalize every possibility they still possess. DENIAL has (no surprise here) MADE something beautiful.
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