ARDIF & Friends “Realm of ancient Mechanimals”

ARDIF & Friends
“Realm of ancient Mechanimals”

ARDIF’s creations are modern mythical creatures. Cyborgs, hybrid creatures of a biological organism and a Machina Obscura, a surreal symbiosis of medieval architecture and ancient mechanics. The machine part, which captivates the eye of the beholder with its multitude of details, romanticizes the first rather dystopian impression of the composition.
Fabulous beings have always been creatures whose outward appearance is shaped by human imagination. Many have their origins in the real world and are influenced by contemporary history. It is the same with ARDIF’s creations. The more and more unbalanced relationship between humans and nature, which in the short term represents a threat to our planet, but in the long term rather a threat to our species, is reflected impressively with the French urban artist works. But the increasing mechanization of our everyday life, digitization and the dawn of the age of machines are also reflected in his works.

Mythical creatures also convey the ancient stories of mankind in a mystical way. In the exhibition “Realm of ancient Mechanimals”, ARDIF takes up these ancient stories and adds another narrative level to his fabulous animals. His creations have their origins in the myths and folklore of the most diverse cultures. His realm of the ancient Mechanimals includes the Japanese Kitsune, a multi-tailed masked fox that is considered a lucky charm, the Greek Pegasus, the winged horse that stands for wisdom and poetry, or a Jackalope, a hybrid of hare and pronghorn, which is very popular on the North American continent.

For an even more extensive discussion of the topic, ARDIF has invited four artist friends to join the discourse. In the process, collaborations have arisen, which extends the french artists view by the individual perspectives of the artist group formed for this exhibition. This group consists of Dzia, Horor, Parvati and Sandrot.

The Belgian painter Dzia dismantles the animals he paints with geometric free forms into a kind of mosaic, which follows the contours of the animals shape. His unmistakable line can be found in countless murals around the world. Recent projects have taken him to China, Norway and Spain. Dzia, who graduated from the Royal Academy in Antwerp with a Masters in Fine Arts, chose a winged cat for his contribution to the exhibition, which can be found in the mythology of North Africa.

Horor found his way to art in early 2000 as a graffiti writer. After completing his studies in fine arts at the Sorbonne, he did not forget his roots, but developed a mix of typography and painting. In his visual language he skilfully combines the influences from the streets of the Parisian suburbs and a classical repertoire discovered at the academy. His works show influences from sensual surrealism, contemporary illustration and naturalistic drawing. Stylistically, they are characterized by calligraphic-inspired lines that flow through his creations in a wave-like, rhythmic manner.

The hybrid characters of the French-Indian artist Parvati are a mixture of human and bird. They open the door to a poetic dream that questions the relationship between the bizarre and the beautiful as well as the demarcation between humans and animals. In addition to the fauna, the flora is omnipresent in her works. This echoes the Amazonian forests in French Guiana where she was born and raised.
Parvati is inspired by the great masters of the Renaissance. This is also reflected in the painting technique she uses. She paints her figures exclusively in oil, while acrylic spray paints are mainly used in the backgrounds. Like ARDIF, she often uses paste-ups for her interventions in public space, i.e. works prepared in the studio, anthropomorphic birds on a human scale, which she then sticks in the streets.

Sandrot is a contemporary French artist painter. Passionate about painting since her childhood, she creates artworks mainly focused on animal subjects.
Often associated with artistic movements such as pop art or urban art, Sandrot draws her inspiration from nature in order to create artworks that raise awareness of the animal cause and support environmental protection associations. Inspired by wild fauna, her artworks are recognizable by the realism, the attitude and the gaze of subjects. Her affection for large formats enabled her to create many frescoes. For the exhibition, she worked with ARDIF on an African elephant, which is a symbol of wisdom, power and dignity on its continent.

„Realm of ancient Mechanimals“
ARDIF & Friends
(Dzia, Horor, Parvati, Sandrot)

30.04.2021 – 25.06.2021
Tuesday – Friday, 2-7pm
Please make an appointment with us to visit the exhibition.

Pretty Portal
Brunnenstrasse 12
40223 Düsseldorf