Animal, Vegetable, Mineral.

4 Aug. – 3 Sept. 2023
Mon – Fri, 9am – 4pm

Sam Derounian shows screen-prints combining natural and industrial imagery entangled with the human figure, and set within hand-painted environments.

The exhibition, Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, deals with themes of humans’ relationship with technology and its effects on wellbeing and self-perception, taking its name from a lecture by the British educational Philosopher, Ken Robinson. Robinson compared educational models of the contemporary western world to those of industry, opining that they should more ideally resemble those of horticulture, if students were to thrive and develop.

Derounian applies Robinson’s ideas about development and wellbeing in the context of this body of work for the exhibition; His allegorical images explore the atomizing and isolating effects of the ubiquity of technology and the negation of nature on the individual – psychologically, socially, politically, and philosophically – in the series.

During his residency in the print room at the Danish Art Workshops, Derounian has been making colour prints with multiple layers, based on existing sketches created in PhotoShop.

The biggest challenge has been to translate photographic imagery into bitmaped images. The second challenge has been mixing colours, that match those found in the original sketches, and mixing these with physical inks. The prints are small, detailed, and multi-coloured, so small mistakes in both of these respects have big consequences for the finished works.

Exhibition Opening 4th of August 2023 at 3pm – 5pm in Strandgade 27B, Christianshavn.

Sam Derounian (UK/DK) holds an MA from the Slade School of Fine Art (2017) and a BA (Hons) from the Glasgow School of Art (2011). Recent and upcoming exhibitions include: Danske Grafikeres Hus (Copenhagen), Bonamatic (Copenhagen), Casa Capitao (Lisbon), Winzavod CCA (Moscow), Vermilion Sands (Copenhagen), and Tate Modern (London).