MANTODEA

EXHIBITED IN THE TABLEAU SHOWROOM, MARCH 2023

CHRIS CALMER’S MANTODEA EXHIBITION IS A CAPTIVATING JOURNEY INTO A SURREAL WORLD WHERE FLORA, HUMANS, AND INSECTS INTERWEAVE TO CREATE NOVEL FORMS AND TRANSFORM THE HUMAN FIGURE. MADE TO ORDER. TWO WEEKS DELIVERY TIME. ARTWORK IS AVAILABLE IN DIFFERENT SIZES.

USING MIRRORS AND COLORED LASER-CUT PLEXIGLASS AS HIS CANVAS CALMER IMBUES HIS ARTWORKS WITH A POIGNANT MESSAGE, URGING US NOT TO FORGET OUR CONNECTION WITH NATURE AMIDST THE ANTHROPOCENE AGE. AS YOU GAZE AT THE ARTWORKS, YOUR REFLECTION BECOMES PART OF THE INTRICATE TAPESTRY OF FLOWERS, LEAVES, AND INSECTS, IMMERSING YOU IN A DREAMLIKE EXPERIENCE THAT BLURS THE BOUNDARY BETWEEN REALITY AND IMAGINATION.

MANTODEA DRAWS ITS INSPIRATION FROM THE INGENIOUS CAMOUFLAGE OF INSECTS, LIKE THE ORCHID MANTIS, WHICH MIMICS THE ETHEREAL BEAUTY OF A PINK ORCHID. CALMER’S EXHIBITION EXPLORES THIS THEME THROUGH VARIOUS APPROACHES, INCLUDING THE MYSTICAL WORLD OF FAIRIES, THE GODDESS VENUS, AND THE MUTATIONS IN PLANT LIFE. THE PROCESS OF CREATING THESE ARTWORKS IS A LABOR OF LOVE, A FUSION OF REAL-LIFE COMPOSITIONS, CLAY FACES, AND BODYSUITS ADORNED WITH FLOWERS, STRIPPED BARE TO REVEAL THE INTRICATE PATTERNS AND SHAPES THAT EMERGE FROM THE FUSION OF THE NATURAL AND THE HUMAN.

AS YOU STEP INTO CALMERS WORLD, YOU ARE TRANSPORTED TO A REALM OF BOUNDLESS CREATIVITY, WHERE THE MUNDANE IS TRANSFORMED INTO THE EXTRAORDINARY, AND THE FAMILIAR IS SEEN IN A NEW LIGHT. MANTODEA IS A FEAST FOR THE SENSES, A CELEBRATION OF THE BEAUTY AND COMPLEXITY OF NATURE, AND AN INVITATION TO RECONNECT WITH THE WONDERS THAT SURROUND US.