CIRO TOTKU
Art exists, the artist brings it to our attention
Russian born Ciro Totku resides and does his work in Cambodia. The incidental detritus and trivial minutia of his environment provides an endless source of inspiration for Totku whose clean and minimalist style relies on simple forms and textures of a calming and meditative nature to set the stage for a focal point that is often subliminally implied. Unlike most other aleatoric art, Totku’s work initially conveys a serenity that is immediately apparent, yet there’s an underlying element of unrest and burgeoning upheaval looming just beyond sight, from which the viewer finds a precarious sanctuary in the symmetries of his solid open fields of abstract context, only to be pierced by sudden surreal or jarring representations. Using the medium of photography, Totku reaches out from the confines of our superficial dimensions of perception, and finds art where it lies dormant and hidden.
Read MoreRussian born Ciro Totku resides and does his work in Cambodia. The incidental detritus and trivial minutia of his environment provides an endless source of inspiration for Totku whose clean and minimalist style relies on simple forms and textures of a calming and meditative nature to set the stage for a focal point that is often subliminally implied. Unlike most other aleatoric art, Totku’s work initially conveys a serenity that is immediately apparent, yet there’s an underlying element of unrest and burgeoning upheaval looming just beyond sight, from which the viewer finds a precarious sanctuary in the symmetries of his solid open fields of abstract context, only to be pierced by sudden surreal or jarring representations. Using the medium of photography, Totku reaches out from the confines of our superficial dimensions of perception, and finds art where it lies dormant and hidden.
Using tightly framed shots to tell larger stories, perhaps the most obvious commonality among Totku's photos is their ability to arouse the viewer's curiosity about the truth behind the image. "Hirayama Lake", for instance, looks like a snow-covered mountain but is actually a photograph of a broken piece of wood and some plastic that the photographer found in Sihanoukville. "All subjects of images will rapidly disappear with time and will never be decrypted," the 39-year-old photographer said. "All multicolor walls will be repainted soon."
http://totku.com