Thomas Penc

I was born and raised in former Czechoslovakia. Having had the experience of living in a totalitarian regime, I see aspects of its grip resurfacing again in the present world, but on a global scale. The apprehension of the possible things to come is reflected in my artwork as it addresses deeper political and existential topics, ridiculous scientific advances, irrational situations, logical inconsistencies and paradoxes of our memory. I am an observer who collects and reflects on these absurdities, I stand in for the individual human and often highlight it with humor.

 
My artwork draws from a variety of materials from plastics, artificial and natural substances, found objects to electronics and other technology, such as 3D printing and computer graphics. All of this helps me illustrate how intellectually complicated we have become on one hand yet remain driven by irrational urges and subconscious impulses. 

The approach to my work is open-ended and idea driven, resulting in a free-forming collection of artefacts from an alternative world, a subjective perception of a distorted landscape, which serves to remind us to take ourselves - from the overall point of existence - way less seriously.