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Francis Olvez-Wilshaw

Discipline:

Sculptor

Location:

London, UK.

ABOUT:

I am a practicing artist who primarily works in sculpture. My work is focused on exploring the manifestations of power within the intersection of mixed heritage identity. I aim to delve into the anxieties of advanced capitalism, body aspiration and cultural identity.
I find fascination in the underlying and often invisible expectations and pressures of our society. I look at unpicking models of fantasy, desire, entrenched political/economic models and the narrow definition of success.

My goal is to unravel them by reshaping their surfaces and through the juxtaposition of contradictory iconography and semiotics. I draw influence from the realms of finance, Filipino pop culture, bodybuilding, video games, military traditions and comic books. I reinterpret recognizable icons, structures, and objects, presenting them in a new light – a proposition for something more fallible and uncertain.

Francis completed his MFA in Sculpture at the Royal College of Art in 2018 and before, completed his BFA in Sculpture at Camberwell College of Art in 2013. He has been awarded international residencies and has exhibited in Athens in 2023, Austin in 2017 and Kaunas, Lithuania in 2015

WORKS:

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