David Griggs

David Griggs

IMA at TCB

30 July–31 August 200830 Jul–31 Aug 2008

David Griggs is famous for his anarchic code-clashing pop paintings which draw on his experiences of living in Asian conflict zones. In 2003 he stayed in Mae Sot, a town on the border of Thailand and Burma, close to three Burmese refugee camps policed by Thai military, where Burmese exiles have been detained since the 1988 Rangoon student uprising. He drew inspiration from young people in the camps who were seeking alternative ways to express themselves and protest. Their stories formed the basis of his 2004 show Destination Disaster at Gertrude Contemporary Art Spaces, Melbourne. For the last three years, Griggs has been spending much of his time in the Philippines. Our show includes three massive unstretched canvasses from his 2006 project Bleeding Hearts Club, made with the assistance of Filipino mural painters, which draw on local imagery, including gang iconography. His 2007 video Blood on the Streets features local slums kids in ghoulish Halloween masks. Sculptures of severed arms hang from the ceiling and sculptures of severed legs lay on the floor. They come from his 2008 show, All I Want is World Peace, a Blowjob and a Free T-Shirt