Purple Art

[June 22 2016]

Jon Rafman “I have Ten Thousand Compound Eyes and each is named suffering” exhibition at Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam

Canadian artist Jon Rafman explores the far-flung corners of the web in the world of avatars, online subcultures and fetish communities. The artist is fascinated by how the boundless possibilities of the Internet and virtual platforms affect and redefine our behavior, social life, and even personal identity.

“Web encourages a certain lightness and nonchalance, a disrespect for the preciousness of the physical object, and this is somewhat liberating, although there’s still plenty of fetishization that’s occurring. Sometimes I feel that there is a sense that we’re all collaborating and analyzing and finding structure in this seemingly formless flow of information that we’re constantly bombarded with every day. And with the growth of the Web I think this dialogue between Internet artists is becoming less and less of a conversation limited to the aesthetics and signs and symbols of the Internet and is becoming more of a conversation just about everyday culture and everyday reality.” — Jon Rafman

Read the full interview with Jon Rafman by Nicholas O’Brien from Purple Fashion issue 21

Jon Rafman “I have Ten Thousand Compound Eyes and Each is Named Suffering” exhibition runs until August 14, 2016, at Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam

Photo Florent Routoulp

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