Artist Feature: Vinz Feel Free
...hybrid subjects with a system of symbols...
Vinz uses a multi-step process to create his unique imagery. He first photographs nude models, either isolated or orchestrated in small groups. He then paints animal heads onto large-scale prints of the human figures, creating hybrid subjects with a system of symbols attached to various species. These are applied to walls with wheat paste throughout European cities.
Taking a more delicate approach to his studio work, Vinz collages paper ephemera into a background texture, as a base to print the figures onto, before painting details in enamel or gouache.
Birds signify freedom, fish represent consumerism, frogs convey authority and lizards represent oppression.
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Vinz was born in 1979 in Valencia, Spain, where he is currently based. He received a BFA in 2003 from Universidad Politécnica in Valencia. In 2011, Vinz began applying this series of work—the Feel Free project—to the walls of his native Valencia and other European cities. His ideas are grounded in our social, political and global environment. To view more of his work, visit his website here.