Chris Gilmour
Cardboard and glue, actual size.
Chris Gilmour was born in Stockport, Bristol, in 1973, but lives in Udine, Italy.
He graduated from the University of the West of England in Bristol. Solo exhibitions include,
Pussygalore at Freight + volume gallery in New York (2006),
Boxes at Perugi's in Padua (2004)
Objects at Perugi's (2001).
Chris Gilmour has always been engaged in the investigation of popular culture through the object. The exclusive material is packing cardboard, practical, cheap, light. And evocative, because it carries with it the idea of container, turning the motorcycles, pianos or cars that come out of his hands into boxes full of memories and feelings. The models are the product of 1950s design, with a predilection for Italian design: the Lambretta, the Ape, the Cinquecento, and Olivetti's glorious Lettera 22. For the design, which is very demanding and can take years, when he does not have the original drawings he has to disassemble the object to know all its secrets. Only then will the cardboard copy be identical to the original in size and down to the smallest bolt. The brittleness and perishability of the material contrasts with the solidity of the model, as in Auto cab, a reproduction of a bee-rickshaw popular in India