ROBOT CITY

As the robot city spins around day in and day out, we tend to get lost in the web of routines. It is easy to loose sight of the manipulative forces as we struggle to make ends meet and to achieve our dreams. Yet it is exactly this sort of perpetual disaster which allows the monsters to take control. As the cars jam down the highways and the people fill the streets the ominous business demigod watches over the city with a viscous grin. Like a mechanical Medusa the giant cyborg spouts technological tentacles from his mind and appendages, sending slithering subliminal manipulations out into all aspects of our lives. The video screens preach his sermon and create strange ideals whether it be in the billboards, our portable devices or in our private homes.

In this image we can see the monstrous overlord lurking above the buildings with his tendrils reaching out in every direction. He watches over the highways, the skyscrapers and the pedestrian traffic while recreating his own likeness on the flickering screens. The models in the advertisements spread a specifically designed message. Though they retain there physical beauty one cannot help but notice an alarming trend. The figures have all lost the tops of their heads. The portion of our body which houses the eyes, mind and consciousness has been removed in favour of a new form of thought. These decapitated craniums have either been replaced by electronic devices our simply left empty representing the ultimate goal of these machines...

“The City of Gears” is a collection of pen and ink drawings dealing with concepts of media manipulation, technological addictions and the potential of art and music to help maintain a balance in a commercially corrupt age. I used a lot of comic book and science fiction styled ideas like this robot city as symbols to make these concepts accessible, fun and despite all the darkness continually full of hope. There were approximately 30 drawings done in this series ranging from 11” x 17” to 30” x 40” inches. The entire set was made outdoors while I was working as a full time graffiti street artist sitting in the middle of downtown Toronto.

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