Gabriel Kuri is renowned for sculptures and
collages made from the remains of everyday purchases and found objects. Kuri
criticizes the 'excessive consumerism that dominates contemporary society' by
using old tickets and receipts, retail supplies and other objects related to
consumption in his work to relate back to this idea. They are all objects he
himself has collected, relating back to the idea of the amount we spend on a
daily basis without a second thought. Kuri extracts retail supplies, and
trivial marketing mechanisms we are so familiar with that surround us in our daily
lives to create his work.
Kuri took his supermarket receipts from
Superama, a version of Walmart in Mexico, from three different visits, a year
apart. He purchased the same products each time and due to inflation the total
amount was different every year. The receipts were converted into hand-woven
tapestries, to the smallest of details, replicating even the ink marks on the original
receipts. Showing something so everyday and simple as a supermarket receipt,
and creating a piece of art.
Kuri created another piece called Column
2009-2010, he took all the receipts he received during a year and inserted them
on steel rods, arranged by date. The fact that one person could generate this
quantity of receipts, and put together that amount of paper, which inevitably
ends in the trash, is a clear demonstration of the excessive consumerism and
waste involved in the day-to-day life.
http://www.marthagarzon.com/
http://www.marthagarzon.com/