Acclaimed street artist RYCA to exhibit new work for the first time as Ryan Callanan. ‘The Symbols Won’t Save Us’ presents a new body of work that draws heavily on the artist’s background in sign manufacture and CNC engineering.
The show will examine the role of signs and symbols in the contemporary aesthetic environment, exploring their inherent meaning through a re-evaluation of context. Callanan’s influences range from industrial signage to popular culture and traditional pub signs.
RYCA is back at Ink_d for a solo show of new work this summer, but this time sees the first exhibition of his work under the name Ryan Callanan. Ryan’s background in sign manufacture and model making has helped him to develop an aesthetic that is becoming distinctly his own. The olde world traditional style of his work is core to everything he does while using a range of materials that he feels suits best each component.
Ryan infuses new and old, not only in the subject matter but in the manufacturing process. The symbols selected for this show aim to connect with you; jog a memory, provoke a thought or spark a question.
Shape recognition is a fundamental part of the way we communicate. Humans have developed millions of symbols for every kind of use. The associated meanings of symbols are something that varies, has changed over the centuries and is open to interpretation. When a symbol is taken out of its standard/ordinary context, it can mean something else. Does its environment play a significant part in meaning? Or what it is applied to? Or are some things too symbolic?
At Ryan’s show at Ink_d titled ‘The Symbols Won’t Save Us’ you can expect to see a selection of hand-made works including; edition glass pieces and unique works, silkscreen and woodblock prints, key rings, scratch cards and more.
