Kevin Bray

This year the poster of Offprint is a re-interpretation of last years poster, in that version I depicted a Golem trying to read itself. A Golem is a creature from Jewish folklore that is made entirely out of dead matter, usually characterized as Earth or Clay. This monster is then activated by humans through the use of language or words - either spoken language or written language which is introduced into its mouth, but in my version, this Golem is trying to read and activate itself, which seems to fit pretty well with the essence of this fair.

This new poster is a translation of that idea, only in this edition, the Golem is represented and composed of inanimate materials which have been, in one way or another, manipulated and beneficial in the development of language, writing and ultimately books. The figure becomes abstracted through the video and website by a shift in perspective, which allows us to go from the representation of the figure to the clear collection of materials.

In his work, Kevin Bray tries to understand how the form and language of a particular medium is visualized and manipulated, in order to apply those same codes onto another medium. His paintings plays with the edges of what is understandable. Generally, tools allow us to produce but they also command our way to create. In his work he counteracts the boundaries they enforce. Inspite the fact his work references different images which are visible and recognizable to us, the work proposes new interpretations. They are re-organizing history, generating cooperation and creating alternative paths for the practice of making images.