Pop porn

by Sholem Krishtalka

"The show is humorous," says local artist Zïlon of his latest offering, PornoNonoPop #4. He adds a necessary qualification: "Well, black humour." Whatever the colour, humorous it definitely is, with a mischievous edge.

"I wanted to play with icons," he explains. And so he does, superimposing mostly gay pornographic images (each in various stages of fountain-like spurting) atop icons that range from Ronald McDonald's smiling face (aptly titled "100% Meat"), to the ubiquitous Hello Kitty, to comic book heroes. Even the Nike swish makes an appearance--sporting a huge, erect, spurting penis.

By combining gay porn with pop culture, Zïlon channels the horny spirits of Andy Warhol, Pierre et Gilles, Gilbert and Georges and (of course) Tom of Finland and never gets lost in chic irony or preciousness. The libidinal spirit of fun rules supreme in these small acrylic canvasses. At Noize records (3697 St-Laurent), until Oct. 1.

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