Little did anyone know that a stagnant industrial wasteland would be a breeding ground for Orwellian creativity. Two decades later, 586 is “new world contortor”, an artist who works with digital mediums and uncensored messages inspired by the shackles of his former occupation. His latest collection of work is titled The Fall of the Pyramid People, a visual anthology inspired by dystopian works like Aldous Huxley’s A Brave New World and Fritz Lang’s Metropolis, as well as Art Deco aesthetics, surrealism and Dadaism. The 22-piece exhibition features striking black and white images of iconography and uncensored messages. We had a chat with the subliminal terrorist about The Fall of the Pyramid People and existence.
Where does the moniker 586 mean and what does it represent?
586 was my industrial identity while serving an apprenticeship in an iron foundry. It pays homage to the little man serving a greater power.
Your exhibition is entitled ‘The Fall of the Pyramid People’. What was the inspiration behind this name?
The Fall of the Pyramid People is a reminder of the past. If you do not where we have come from how do you know where we are going?
You call yourself an “urban digital experimentalist”. What does that mean and how does it translate into your art?
Truthfully I don’t call myself anything, that’s not my job. But when it comes to art, I am always inspired by my urban surroundings. The things we take for granted are often the best to manipulate because they are familiar, and pasting them into new context can create strange effects and reactions.
Roughly how many pieces of work will be featured in the exhibition?
It’s looking like 11 canvases and 11 prints, and I promise that’s a coincidence!
“Resist or Perish.” Do you believe that these are two mutually exclusive states of existence?
No, existence has many states. It means do something about it now because tomorrow you may not be able to.
What does it mean to be an uncensored artist?
It means you are not bound by social politeness.
In your artist statement, you describe art as a vehicle for communicating beyond a space. What are you communicating through The Fall of the Pyramid People?
That sometimes the hardest thing to spot is something that has been in front of your face the whole ime.
