Dead planet


Projecting a rather bleak assessment of human activity, Gekko's "Dead Planet" series deploys the visual codes of hazard warning signs to present a body of images that revolve around the idea of destruction and an intervention imperative.

 

Whilst on the one hand commenting upon environmental concerns, community cohesion, social networks and narcissistic attitudes, the artist is simultaneously staging a visual game between the background and the image; between the support and the trompe l'oeil.

 

It is a difficult choice on the part of the viewer; whether to contemplate the objects rather than the pictorial motif painted on the surface. indeed, what should be observed as the priority: the background of objects that serves as a backdrop to the piece, or the reconstructed image that serves as a meaning for the work?