Dreaming of El Dorado
Jason Frizzell constructs surreal scenes of a post-apocalyptic future.
Jason Frizzell, “It Didn't Happen All At Once,” 2021
scale model components and materials, high-density foam, paint, epoxy putty and acrylic, 4″ x 4″ x 4″ (courtesy Herringer Kiss Gallery, Calgary)
One could well wonder if Jason Frizzell’s exhibition And We Will Dream of El Dorado is a thinly disguised satire of Alberta’s decline over the past decade or, perhaps, a statement on the ultimate fate of the planet.
We know the story of El Dorado, the fabled lost city with its treasure trove of gold and precious stones that prompted several unsuccessful European expeditions in Latin America. It can be read as a metaphor for much colonial history, when European exploration was propelled by dreams of untold wealth in unknown lands. Now, with the world “discovered,” the search for El Dorado could apply equally to mining for resources hidden deep beneath the planet’s surface.
In this solo exhibition, which continues to Jan. 15 at the Herringer Kiss Gallery in Calgary, Frizzell presents 19 clever tableaus that look at first glance like model train landscapes or displays in museum vitrines. However, on closer examination, they reveal bizarre landscapes populated by strange robots and spaceships, as well as rusted-out wartime vehicles and domesticated dinosaurs.
Jason Frizzell, “A Tale Told with Stick + Stone,” 2021
scale model components and materials, paint, epoxy putty, wood and glass, 18″ x 14″ x 12.5″ (courtesy Herringer Kiss Gallery, Calgary)
A Tale Told with Stick + Stone features an abandoned factory with a large smoke-stack and a horse-like dinosaur, laden with what looks like dynamite, pulling a stagecoach topped with an antique car. A gold glob-headed figure sits on the front of the stagecoach, while another is in the driver’s seat of the car. The back seat holds what could be oil barrels. A third figure with the same gold head, pedals towards the dinosaur on what looks like a cargo bike. On the cracked roof of the factory, a scuba diver swims through debris. It seems an obvious comment on fossil fuels and their role in climate change.
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Jason Frizzell, “And You'll Always Look Fantastic . . . As We Wander Through the Ashes” (detail), 2021
scale model components and materials, high-density foam, paint, epoxy putty and acrylic, 21″ x 16.5″ x 17″ (courtesy Herringer Kiss Gallery, Calgary)
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Jason Frizzell, “And You'll Always Look Fantastic . . . As We Wander Through the Ashes” (detail), 2021
scale model components and materials, high-density foam, paint, epoxy putty and acrylic, 21″ x 16.5″ x 17″ (courtesy Herringer Kiss Gallery, Calgary)
And You’ll Always Look Fantastic . . . As We Wander Through the Ashes includes two playful figures, one smiling like a Pac-Man. They face each other in front of a bombed-out mansion. A rusted truck sits at the driveway’s entryway. This piece has a gaming sensibility where the goal might be to blow up buildings and aliens, although here it’s difficult to distinguish the good guy from the bad. One thing is clear, however: No humans are left in this world.
Frizzell, who teaches art at Red Deer College in central Alberta, manipulates and paints model-building components to create his post-apocalyptic scenes, often removing the head of one figure and attaching it to another body to create fantasy hybrids.
Jason Frizzell, “When the Wheels Come Off We Get Out and Walk III,” 2021
scale model components and materials, high-density foam, paint, epoxy putty and acrylic, 2″ x 2″ x 2.5″ (courtesy Herringer Kiss Gallery, Calgary)
The exhibition also includes 14 tiny painted figures that carry briefcases, suitcases or purses. Each is titled When the Wheels Come Off We Get Out and Walk. There’s an interesting visual dialogue between the innocence of the bright yellow happy-face heads, the blood-red footwear and luggage, and the ash-grey clothing. While some may dismiss these miniatures as cute, they are very much a part of Frizzell’s apocalyptic surrealism.
Frizzell says this body of work continues his “thematic exploration of transition, denial and discovery.” His art can be viewed as fantasy or as foreshadowing the future, or even dismissed as kitsch. While opinions may differ on the post-apocalyptic narrative, his craftmanship is engaging and his work provokes thought. ■
Jason Frizzell, And We Will Dream of El Dorado, on view at the Herringer Kiss Gallery in Calgary from Nov. 27, 2021 to Jan 15, 2022.
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Herringer Kiss Gallery
101-1615 10 Avenue SW, Calgary, Alberta T3C 0J7
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