IN METRO is a varied edition stone lithograph with LEDs and LCD screens, that uses the site of the city to explore the diversity of coexisting human experiences. The high concentration of people living and working in the Melbourne CBD, not interacting but existing within the same site, contrasted with the inherent destruction that it takes to build the massive skyscrapers on unceded aboriginal land, creates an interesting dichotomy between an optimistic and pessimistic observation on the ‘human condition. The optimistic depiction of humanity – so many unique experiences of the world at every one time, all contributing to a shared society contrasted with the pessimistic view of humans in the destructive colonial forces that lead to contemporary ‘Australia’.
I use a towering city filled with little humans having different experiences, chatting, painting, etc, along with both still and moving advertisements either from screens or backlit, to create this contrast – the somewhat dirty textured buildings and bright screaming advertisements reference the resource heavy labour used to create the city, and the little people add back in that element of contrasting optimism.
Aiden Fyfield is a Naarm/Melbourne based print focused artist whose practice focuses on exploring humanity via built-up sites.
https://www.instagram.com/aidenfyfield_art