Francisco Tavoni: Simulacra and Simulation

18 January - 8 March 2024

  • Francisco Tavoni

    Simulacra and Simulation

  • About the Artist

    Born in 1986 in Caracas, Venezuela. Lives and works in Byron Bay, Australia. Francisco Tavoni uses photography as a way to collectively understand the power of affection. He addresses the ego and the generation of identity as a process that can –and furthermore should– occur within the body instead of outside of it, without the predominance of outer patterns. Tavoni sustains himself in this realm where genuine identity is formed, in the depths of oneself, where no exterior norms apply.
     
  • Simulacra and Simulation

    Francisco Tavoni
    Simulacra And Simulation IV , 2024
    Ditone Print on Baryta Rag Waxed With Aluminum Artist Made Frame
    119 x 176 cm
    46 7/8 x 69 1/4 in

    Simulacra and Simulation

    Simulacra and Simulation by Francisco Tavoni researches our connection with reality and how the media manipulates society into perceiving the ultimate truth. 
     
    This new body of work mimics the blurriness of reality that humans absorb daily from the media. The society of the spectacle has distorted our capacity to discern between truth and illusion. 
     
    As society seeks fulfillment through the simulacra of reality, the question previously asked by Jean Baudrillard in Simulacra and Simulation arises: “Are the mass media aligned with the power in manipulating the masses, or are they aligned with the masses in the dissolution of meaning, in the violence inflicted upon meaning, and in fascination? Does the media induce fascination in the masses, or do the masses guide the media into the spectacle?”
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  • "...The simulacrum is never that which conceals the truth—it is the truth which conceals that there is none. The simulacrum is true." 
  • While Fibonacci's rule of composition provides Tavoni's work with visual structure, a recent trip to New York pushed the artist to evolve, drawing inspiration from Daniel Correa Mejia's vibrant paintings. This series deviates from Tavoni's classic hues and figuration, allowing for the emergence of abstract forms resembling spiritual beings. This stage of creation empowers Tavoni to push the boundaries of human representation and the definition of reality. From using blinded eyesight imagery to representing uncertain forms, the artist’s pursuit is to create awareness of the pursuit of total internal freedom. 
     
    Encapsulating these soon-to-be liberated beings, are polished aluminum frames - which serve as an imaginary shiny cage to escape.