Gart Darley : anatomy of a broken fibula

Gart Darley is a Victoria-born zinester, musician, game show host and multi-medium visual artist. Utilizing tools such as glue, canvas, felt pens, old magazines, 35mm film, paint, t-shirts, spaghetti, utility knives, guitars, his own body and the bodies of his friends, Gart broadcasts his message of community, creativity and fun. Give it. Make it. Life is a beach.

Many of the humans present in his collage work emphasize a desire to play with, define and remake the world. Collage, itself, carries this property. While the grandeur of a cityscape is often minimized, the idle play of toddlers, a quiet grandma or birds just hanging out is centred. Often set against starry backdrops, the atmosphere of normality is brushed away a little and the pattern-seeking and desiring inclinations of the subjects are brought into question.

Through the small press project Rotten Variety, alongside fellow friend and artist Iva Jelovina, Gart distributes his work and the work of others through zines, t-shirts and other mediums, serving to connect collagists, performers, goons, doodlers and book binders, making known a growing society of surreal and socially aware visionaries in a city built for brunching tourists.

Gart’s art, words and exploits have been previously featured in Hidden City magazine, Talk’s Cheap, Cavity Curiosity Shop, Uvic’s The Martlet, on album covers through Shake! Records and apartments all over town.