Blak Flâneur
27 January-2 March 2024 | Blak Flâneur was an experiential exhibition that invites the audience into artist Travis De Vries' world of walking as an artistic practice.
The term Flâneur is generally attributed to a man who strolls or idles seemingly aimlessly in the urban space, viewing society. In his blak version of flâneurism, the artist finds strolling the urban space fosters a sense of anxiety, so he walks to leave society and humanity behind, to be both alone with his thoughts and with the greater world. He captures this experience with lenses & cameras both digital and analogue, an extension of his perspective.
About the artist:
Travis De Vries is an award- winning visual artist, who has held solo exhibitions in Edinburgh (UK), Sydney and Regional NSW and has been part of numerous group exhibitions, art prizes and residencies. He is also a trained dancer and is alumni of NAISDA Dance College, where he was awarded the inaugural Chairman's Award.
Travis works across mediums, combining multiple forms; paintings, drawings, projections and experiential sculptures. Storytelling is at the heart of his practice. Through the use of fable, metaphor, symbolism and tropes he invokes a deep connection with audiences to explore a range of both personal and universal themes including; Indigeneity, violence, destruction, politics, love, death and relationships.
Photography by Jade Goodwin
When I walk it is to be apart from society. It is to be and to see, to feel and to explore both myself and the world around me.
Blak Flâneur has been the most difficult exhibition I have ever produced. It feels to me as though it is a thought that will not conclude. In comparison to previous works feels unresolved. This is personal in a way that I have never exhibited before.
In the past my art practice has been largely visual explorations of a narrative with themes and ideas. This is portrayed through characters as proxies to my own thoughts. I could espouse ideas through narrative and character that was at arm’s length from my personal identity. With Blak Flâneur I am publicly exploring myself and the way that I see the world.
I could espouse ideas through narrative and character that was at arms length from my personal identity. With Blak Flâneur I am publicly exploring myself and the way that I see the world.
~ Travis De Vries