24 April 2011

A Necessary EVOL

It is as if The Borrowers had supplanted themselves en masse from suburbia and had become urban dwellers overnight, yet these pictures do not signify a demographic lurch by the tiny folk.  This is the work of German street artist EVOL.  He uses stencils to turn everyday outdoor objects, such as electrical boxes in to miniature skyscrapers.

Look closely and you will see all the usual aspects of urban living – the satellite TV dishes affixed to many of the ‘flats; the balconies and half drawn net curtains; the ubiquitous graffiti. If you simply glance at these pictures it becomes difficult to distinguish them from the real thing.

These pictures are part of EVOL’s series of works entitled ‘buildings’ which while stating the obvious – doesn’t.  This is a wallpaper job in a way – Evol applies paper printed with a pattern on to these surfaces and takes it from there.

Although EVOL is Berlin based his work has started to appear throughout Europe.  So, if you see a rather banal urban surface which has been transformed in to a diminutive block of flats, take a closer look. But don’t expect to find The Borrowers inside...