Milos Pelikan - 'Totem'

Wednesday 12 June - Sunday 7 July 2019

…a spirit being, sacred object, or symbol that serves as an emblem of a group of people, such as a family, clan, lineage, or tribe…

Totems are most often associated with first peoples and tend to be seen as historical objects of curiosity. These new works challenge the idea that modernity, particularly the digital age, is not brimming with totems. From Nike to baseball caps to football scarves to iPhones, we are surrounded by totems. Totems are the sentinels of identity, the keeps of our core of who we are and what we identify with.

These works use the creative tension between the 'classical' form of a totem and the application of digital age objects as representations of modern 'spirits' – the mysterious workings of digital paraphernalia. The use of recycled materials sourced over time, collected then reinterpreted is representative of the reuse of the past to create new identities, and with them new totems.