All images courtesy of the artist and Reed Projects Gallery
Illustrator Hama Woods' menagerie of circus acts have the feel of monochromatic street art with a punch of politics to reflect on animal poaching and the selfish disregard of human volition. Woods' latest show is titled Circus Hama, showing now at Reed Projects in Stavanger, Norway, features a slew of trapeze artists and high-flying acts, called Endless Flights.The Oslo-based artist takes a tour through the jungle, donning a fantastical ringleader’s hat. Each animal takes on the likeness to a sad clown, with multi-colored diamonds circling their eyes. Woods’ stencil illustrations pair each animal with a circus contraption, at times literally stringing one creature to the next with a tightwire. Along the circus theme, the exhibit is set against red and white vertically-striped walls, and she's serving popcorn and ice slushies to all visitors.
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Woods shares in a press release that her “work demonstrates a reverence for nature and its immediate connection to humanity" and "focuses on a sociological approach to greed and human consumption.”Her work is recognizable by a use of “hand cut, multi-layered stencils, which are applied by spray paint,” affixed in both public and private spaces.
Woods has been teasing parts of her creative process and the gallery's design on her Instagram. Here are a few previews:
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