A young man stepping out of the train, carrying a bundle of hand painted clothes to sell at the bargain bazaar, loses a slipper in the melee. He removes the other and walks barefoot, side-stepping run-off from crates and walls. Pauses for the gong at the Church Plaza, crosses himself and moves on- bewildered, anxious and hoping for miracles. Shadows providing paths, beneath concrete barks, among the confused Hustle.
The City Dwellers is another significant milestone in Blic’s march to delve deep into the psyche of urban angst and celebration-observing fleeting moments and everyday people in City Life. To illustrate an endearing perspective of the daunting city and its inhabitants. Understanding that, whilst the sidewalks may not always be paved with gold, depicting chance with the 8 Ball Humand, we are not alone in our struggles.
Blic’s feet are firmly rooted in his natural habitat, the urban jungle. Humands, the artist’s trademark icon for oddity, and exceptional humans, pervades, and is a poignant metaphor for resilience – adapting to, and sometimes, reshaping their environment, in their own image, to earn a livelihood.
Blic’s unique style has matured into a wonderfully delicate and tactile rhythm, evolving into a certain mojo, in the visual and audible trajectory. Humands in Chinatown and Dry Market provide a sense of place and a cacophony associated with specific geographies. By juxtaposing Humands onto ASL sign language parameters, the artist communicates in silence, and encourages the viewer to hear with the mind.
The attention to detail demonstrates the boundless layers of skill and his ability to draw the physical and meta-physical. From the Humand Repair Mechanic, fixing the material, to Rise, where the motivation outside of the frame is soulfully portrayed by Humands ascending from the underpass into light. Blic seamlessly combines the tangible and intangible with Humands in the Park rejuvenating before a monument set amidst trees. The artist uses angles and bokeh with confidence and technical perfection. Examples are continuum in Hustle with diagonals and subliminal utensils backdrop in Humand Cook. In 1880, Rodin sculptured The Burghers of Calais. The masterpiece depicts the moment when, in the 14th Century, besieged by King Edward III of England, six city dwellers surrendered for execution in return for the city’s safety. They survived. However, their selfless act is a reminder of everyday martyrs, willing to sacrifice their lives for a higher cause.
Like Rodin’s sculpture, The City Dwellers, transcending above the strife and clutter of the megapolis, is a poem to the spirit of belief and perseverance, characterized by Blic and his country of origin. A zeitgeist, populated with many recognizable symbols of the times, with the human condition at its heart.
It is dusk. Having sold some clothes, he has money left only for the train ride. The Humand Street Vendor agrees to be paid the following day for the food. On the sidewalk, teeming with Humands, the young man scampers to the station. To return, more assured. To find a way to continue- his journey, a direction home. —Jeetendra Marcelline
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