* 1975 in Toronto, CA, lives and works in New York, US
For a glimpse into the contemporary intersection of virtual and real worlds, one need look no further than commercial, liminal environments. Shawn Maximo’s artistic work is informed by his design and architectural practice of creating store designs for brands like Gucci and MAC Cosmetics as well as experimental sets and virtual renderings with the art collaborative Yemenwed. The superimposition and collision of disparate visual references are recurring techniques used by Maximo, combining generic architectural spaces with alien functions. Here, Maximo has renovated a degendered bathroom. While capitalizing on private zones as the last remaining sites for near undisturbed attention, the restroom has been turned into an info center for the 9th Berlin Biennale—conflating spaces of private relief and public distribution and participation.
List of works
Installation view of #3, 2016, credit: David von Becker, courtesy Shawn Maximo
#3, 2016
Aluminum, ceramic, glass, LCD screen, resin, stainless steel Courtesy Shawn Maximo
Commissioned and coproduced by Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art
With the support of Dornbracht, Canada Council for the Arts