Artist Francis Olvez – Wilshaw will take part in Šilainiai residency 30 July – 6 August 2016.
These are his initial plans for the residency:
My work firstly looks at the financial crash of 2007/08 and the models/institutions that underpinned and caused the crisis. Currently I appropriate the motifs, symbols and architecture used by the finance world to then rework them into sculptures and decorative 2-D flat imagery.
After researching the micro-district of Silainiai, what immediately interested me is that it is a ‘planned’ district. Architecturally the area is designed to function according to a model. My work at the moment focuses on architectural models of the interior and exterior and observes how it dictates function and our perceptions of social hierarchy.
During my time in Silainiai I intend to continue researching the architecture of the modernist tower blocks and how they function as a part of a larger network of living spaces. (Roads, parks, the rest of Kaunas etc) I propose to produce an installation which will contain a series of wall reliefs and backdrops using mass produced industrial materials such as MDF, polystyrene, cardboard and vinyl in response to the tower blocks of Silainiai. These wall reliefs and backdrops will also work as shelving units and backgrounds which will have objects in the units and free standing sculptures in front of the backdrops.
Francis Olvez-Wilshaw primarily makes free-standing abstract sculptures which are then arranged in a variety of different positions with large prints, patterns, kinetic elements, music – often altering the floors and walls to reference commercial spaces.
“I see working as a sculptor and installation artist as a ‘dress up/costume’ box. It allows me to wear/use different languages, materials and ‘skins’.”
Francis Olvez-Wilshaw’s work involves the examination of the interior architecture of contemporary spaces – from high-end boutiques to corporate lobbies. He observes models that project power, success and desire. Yet the overall effect of his installations is to render the model empty and vacuous.
After graduating with a BA Sculpture from Camberwell College of Art in 2013, he had his first solo show, ‘If you want me to stay’, at The Green Man Gallery in Buxton, Derbyshire. He was then awarded an art residency at The Florence Trust in London. This Summer he will be artist in residence at the Silainiai Project in Kaunas, Lithuania, and in the Autumn he will be starting on the MA Sculpture programme at the RCA.
Francis Olvez-Wilshaw lives and works in London.
See more of his work here: www.francisolvez-wilshaw.co.uk
Francis Olvez-Wilshaw’s solo show AETHER SHRUGGED is open until Friday 27 May 2016 at Curious Projects, The Labyrinth, 7 Mark Lane, Easbourne BN21 4RJ http://www.curious-projects.co.uk
Šilainiai Project 