Jean-Ulrick Désert
Haiti, 1965
Désert’s visual-art spans many mediums and methods. Emerging from a tradition of conceptual-work engaged with social/cultural practices, his artworks vary in forms such as billboards, actions, paintings, site-specific sculptures, video and objects. Known for his “Negerhosen2000” and his provocative “Burqa Project”, Désert often combines cultural iconographies and historical metaphor to disrupt, alter and shift pre-supposed meaning. He has said his practice may be characterized as visualizing “conspicuous invisibility”(l’invisibilité ostentatoire).
Désert has exhibited widely at such venues as The Brooklyn Museum, Cité Internationale des Arts, The NGBK(Berlin) in,galleries and public venues in Munich, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Ghent, Brussels.
He is the recipient of awards, public commissions, private philanthropy, including LMCC(NY), Villa Waldberta/Muenchen-kulturreferat (Germany) and Cité des Arts (France).
Désert represented Haiti and Germany in the 2009 Havana Biennial and the Kreyol Factory Paris exhibition. Two notable books use his artwork as cover: Stuart Hall’s publication “Identités et Cultures/politiques des cultural studies” and a collection of Haitian literature “Une journée haitenne”
"There has recently been a global reset of sentiments felt in North and Latin America and the world over. The statement “Anything is possible…you can be whoever you want to be…(i.e.PrimeMinister/President, Secretary General, even an Artist)” - often goes unexamined although it is often said to encourage the young.
For ten years General Secretary Kofi Annan was the figure-head of the UN –functioning as a borderless diplomat. His tenure suggests that a branded-icon is often a sign of collective consensus created by multiple means including education, awards, investitures and trophies.
The “Trophies” series presents several points of departure for the viewer: a) The familiar motif known as Paint-by-number paintings. b) A confidence to interact with art. c) Imaginative intricacy is often simple when analyzed. d) Model diplomacy for hope and change is often rewarded.
This series continues my general artistic approach that engages accessible and familiar motifs from popular culture along with my conceptual interests. These works imply an invitation to the viewer to “fill-in” his/her choice and picture the vibrant possibilities of color. They are strange but familiar diagrams that challenge the viewer to envision completion and change with his/her imagination."
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