I Thought the Matter was Done and Then I Heard Some More
2016 lenticular sculpture
Lenticular printed sheets, mannequin, plaster, fiberglass, paint, metallic paper, plastic bubble sheets, hot glue, thread
6ft x 25in x 12in

“I Thought the Matter was Done and Then I Heard Some More, the title of a new work by Avery Zhao-Djokic consists of a mannequin figure dressed in a suit composed of small square and triangular ‘Lenticular’ patches cut out of 3D advertising panels she acquired from China. Dressed in a helmet made of plaster with reflecting visor, this figure stands as a human surrogate in our midst, yet with a distinct other- world air about it: something forward looking and future orientated. Looking into the visor we see ourselves in the reflection. Reproduction seems more pointed than reflection as an effect since the suit replicates its world, the commercial environment of capital, and it does so in an entirely global context. In other words, this is post-human in its presence and in its pertinence.

The detail of Zhao-Djokic’s costume is nothing more than the ‘cosmic’ image of the non-status of images, the plethora held in the virtual holdings of the web, the equalizing of all content in a vast unimaginable virtual space. Arcade Fire’s Mirror Man, is an interesting comparison in that ‘it’ is a light spectacle, a glittering mirage from the future in the context of its music in its time. The ‘lenticular man’ on the other hand shimmers with the different intent of situating networks; the market, consumption, globalization into this one moment. A super hero? We are not sure. This collage of imagery seems to suggest many themes, among them, the post-human conditions of the 21st C.

This work, in addition to its cross-disciplinary appeal in art, drawing on the display practices and product placement within mercantile spaces and consumer environments, is an equally forceful comment on expository presence in our daily social experience. Far from being in simple rapport with fashion, the work reveals its complexity and relevance against the circumstances of today. What is revealing in these works is how matter combines with presence in an image/exchange in reality.”
– Trevor Gould, Sculpture Used for Other Ends catalogue