At ArtPace, Dzama has wallpapered the gallery with hundreds of his signature page-size drawings, noted for their disconnected narratives and psychological tension. Dzama depicts a world of isolated adults with glazed-over expressions interacting with other figures or forms in space. The images merge children’s sensibility with adult culture—innocent situations charged with sexuality and violence.
Like many artists of his generation, Dzama approaches his work with a dark sense of humor and a savvy vocabulary of contemporary media culture. The non-linear arrangement of the drawings recalls the experience of “channel-surfing” while watching television—a fast paced barrage of images, all linked by their flatness and uniformity. The combination of the rhythm of the installation with the illustrative precision of the artist’s hand heightens the disturbing visual experience of reading the stunted narratives and experiences of the drawing’s subjects.
