- 1. By Conner, Jacob and Michael
2. BIOOriginally from Mexico City, Gabriel Dawe
createssite-specific installations that explore theconnection
between fashion and architecture,and how they relate to the human
need for shelterin all its shapes and forms. His work is centered
inthe exploration of textiles, aiming to examine thecomplicated
construction of gender and identityin his native Mexico and
attempting to subvert thenotions of masculinity and machismo
prevalent inthe present day. His work has been exhibited inthe US,
Canada, Belgium, and the UK. After livingin Montreal, Canada for 7
years, he moved toDallas, Texas, where he obtained his MFA at
theUniversity of Texas at Dallas. For the final two yearsof his
degree, he was an artist in residence atCentralTrak, the Artist in
Residency program atUTD. His work has been featured in
numerouspublications around the world, including Sculpturemagazine,
the cover of the 12th of ArtFundamentals. 3. Growing up as a boy in
Mexico, GabrielDawe was forbidden to explore the artisticelements
of textiles and embroidery, an areathought to be reserved for
women.Nevertheless, the color and intensity ofMexican culture began
to appear in hisartwork after moving to Montreal in 2000.Now based
out of Texas, the mixed mediaartist has made a career out of the
mind-bending thread installations that composethe "Plexus"
series.Citing artist Anish Kapooras a major influence, Dawe
createscomplex, colorful and often vertigo-inducingspatial
structures, which are meant to evokethe invisible forces that shape
ourexistencesuch as social norms andexpectationsand to draw our
attention tothe invisible order amidst the chaos of life.On a much
more superficial level, theinstallations are visually beautiful,
and seemto make the intangible visible. 4. The density of light My
work consists of devising the arrangement of the structure Im going
to make with the thread. These installations are site-specific,
which means that every new installation has to be created for that
particular space. They also have to be done in the space itself,
which means that I cannot create them in advance and then transport
it.www.youtube.com/.webloc 5. Pain seriesMy challenge against
machismo was muchmore obvious when I started to work withembroidery
which was expressly forbidden tome as a boy. It is also very
present in some ofmy work within the "Pain" series, where
Ideconstruct pieces of clothing and I coverthem with pins. As my
work has evolved, Ivecontinued with that thought in mind, but in
amore broader sense, exploring socialconstructs of gender and how
we constantlydeal with them on a day to day basis. 6. Dont ask dont
tell 7. Plexus For Plexus no. 13, Im doing threeintersecting
structures, similar to No. 6,but with three big differences:
theproportions are much different; theplacement of the wooden
structures,which are at a different angles; and thecolor sequence.
Plexus no. 14 will be atake on one of my very first ideas,
whichuntil now I hadnt had a chance to try. Very early on in the
series, the idea oflight became an intrinsic part of
theseinstallations. Because I use regularsewing thread on an
architectural scale,the structures created are ethereal
anddiaphanous. I think of them as existing ina space between the
material and theimmaterial; or like some sort ofalchemical
experiment where I attemptto materialize light. 8.
Relicswww.youtube.com/watch?v=L38w#6B
