Daniel Drabek

Daniel Drabek, born in Bellinzona, 1998 (CH/IT). Lives and works in Zurich.

My work deals with products and media, particularly those targeted at men and boys during their developmental stages. Through installation, sculpture, and painting, I reproduce a lot of this iconography with emphasis on its aggressive connotations and dehumanizing nature.

I look at advertisements, pop culture and online spaces to understand the mental framework of privileged men who feel alienated, men who hate themselves, men who hate the world, men who see no reason to live but to wait for the next big movie, videogame or toy to come out, or in extreme cases, retribution and violence.

Being a man and a former boy myself, I also draw from my personal experiences and what shaped my reality and expectations. I condense all of this into characters and create works from their point of view. The artworks become manifestations of their inner-spaces; uninhibited, distorted, emotionally charged, and confined by their beliefs.

I confront a lot of uncomfortable, absurd, and grotesque material in this process, but I do find a certain humor in it, and I believe it can be empowering.