Alan Berry Rhys: Carnada Viva
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In Spanish, Carnada Viva means ‘live bait’. Ever since I was a boy I have been drawn to fishing, and to this day remain fascinated by the variety of the sport. Equally, I love the paraphernalia associated with it; the bait shops and their billboards. My friends and I most often fish along the huge river that runs all the way through the east of Argentina from the north to the south: The Paraná River. I’m completely amazed by this body of water. It flows through a dense subtropical forest and on its shores are colonial towns, sites of cultural heritage and the locale for some of the more significant moments of Argentine history. Within the water’s depths dwell the river’s inhabitants - mythical creatures. The meeting of these two aspects, the river and the towns, combines ancient nature with introduced European Christian ways of living. It is an area rich in the push and pull of cultivated and natural history and its subsequent development. Carnada Viva is a graphic essay in which I present all the elements that fascinate me about the culture found along the Paraná River.
Bio
Alan Berry Rhys is a graphic artist and illustrator based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He is also a Professor of Graphic Design, and has taught at Buenos Aires University for 8 years.
Alan cites vintage graphic advertising as his main inspiration. Using a combination of methods derived from screen printing and risograph-making, as well as painting by hand, Alan’s distinctive style is characterised by his homage to lo-fi printing with its errors and limitations. The aesthetics of craftsmanship lifestyles, such as those experienced by fishermen, axmen, butchers and carpenters, feed into his work, as does popular graphic street art.
Alan’s commercial work has seen him collaborate with a wide range of brands and agencies, including Jack Daniel’s, Miller Lite, Nike, Puma, Sol Beer, Cinzano, Vans, Oreo, Good Year, Blue Moon, Penguin, California Customs, Pilgrim London, BlackFin, and Gravedad Zero.
Previous Solo Exhibitions: Buenos Aires, Argentina Rosario, Argentina San Francisco, USA Santiago de Chile, Chile
Previous Group Exhibitions: Portland, Oregon, USA Buenos Aires, Argentina Tandil, Argentina Asuncion, Paraguay