Biography:
Born in Lima, Peru, German Fernandez Cantos studied at the Faculty of Art at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru, obtaining his BFA in Graphic Designing. He is a graphic designer and currently lives and works in Dubai, working mainly in the field of information graphics, data visualization and editorial publishing.
As an artist, he has been selected
for various watercolour salons (ICPNA National Watercolour Salon) in Peru
and has been participating consistently in group exhibitions in Dubai where he
has had two solo shows at FNDesigns Gallery in the art district of Alserkal
Avenue.
His work has three lines of explorations - a more figurative one with a steampunk-like theme exploring the dystopian
possibilities of technology and the other explore the expressiveness of
anthropomorphic figures made basically in drawings and paintings. A third one,
a consequence of the previous two, is an inquiry into video art pieces and
web-based works where he explores relationships among people and a fantasy
world where creatures reflect the behaviours of humans, in groups, among
persons, and the possibilities of knowledge and communication. The fact that we
try to jump that gap with technology, of reality, of the world we are in, and
if it's possible to establish any value where most values have been obliterated,
and if it's possible to establish new systems where the old ones are not of use
anymore, how they affect us and who we are is what he is exploring.
German Fernandez is paired with Joseph Schreiber and to read the poem "Spectral commute" that was inspired by "Fly Like Icarus" and other poems, visit Joseph Schreiber.
Artist Statement:
In the previous artworks before the pandemic, I use to depict characters with facemasks, in absurd fantasies; now the facemasks are part of daily life, appearing in every newsfeed, surpassing the imagined from the ubiquitous presence of hazmat uniforms to the view of the desolated streets.
Initially during the early days of the pandemic, and some would say even now-it was/is difficult to grasp the magnitude of it all, we are always surrounded by the overwhelming feeling of gloomy uncertainty. Therefore, these works are just side-notes of the emotions and feelings about those long periods.
As a result, I created the “Q Times” illustration, one I made in a less sombre tone, actually trying to be colourful and less gloomy in the approach because what is also curious is that new situations and contexts give place to new ideas. In the case of the two women dining, it was about imagining a way of coming to terms with what is called in many places the "new normality"; it can also be interpreted as a sign of resilience.
Also, I was thinking about the fact that an act that usually was given little afterthought like going out to eat in a restaurant, now has to be considered and is subject to protocols of public safety with an unavoidable degree of risk involved.
Nevertheless, the new daily life we see now, as a result, gives way to the imagination and thinking of what else can change and how. This new situation has pushed people to try to do the same things they were doing but in a new way, it is somehow an attempt to continue our lives as usual but also in a very different manner. The result could be funny, sad or just bewildering.
Another angle I take in the drawings is the fact that transit, in general, was/ and still is restricted and that many were/are far from their families immediately gives the act of travel a different dimension: a luxury, a dream - hence the title of the drawing implies a desire. We wish that we have wings to reach our loved ones or move from where we are, just for the sake of it. Although the flying person is in an enclosed space and so maybe she cannot travel, just like us. In one of the drawings, a masked man looks with fear while the now popular spiked sphere of the microscopic virus lurks at one of the corners of the page. Another drawing shows a person floating over the closed space while checking a mobile device. Has the screen become, for many, almost the only possibility of connection with the rest of the world? But in the last one, a thoughtful person rests with the device at his feet, leaving us to ask if the technology is enough for us nowadays?
You can reach German at:
Instagram: @gefercan
Facebook: German Fernandez y susimágenes
YouTube: Gefercan
German Fernandez is often futuristic in his works creating a fantastic
world of his own, he was part of my 2016 curated show ‘Repercussions’ that took
place in Durbar Hall, Kochi and his large-scale works were phenomenal hanging
on the gallery walls. The viewers-art enthusiasts stood before it watching the
people-forms in masks that has now become a reality! He’s prophetic that way! German
and I were part of the show “It’s all
Square” hosted in thejamjar gallery in 2014 organized by The Domino in
Dubai. That’s how I met him. Joseph Schreiber is a sensitive soul who has
endured pain in many forms and that sensitivity reflects in his writings as
well while being precise. His works have an eerie melancholy that resonates with
his blog title, roughghosts that I
have been following for some years now. Joseph loves India; I remember him
coming down, and I had shown him around Kochi during the 2018 Kochi Muziris
Biennale. He was visiting Mini S Menon and she unfortunately couldn’t join us
that day. German and Joseph’s works gel well.
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