Kevin Simion

In his first solo exhibition ‘The Toybox’, Kevin Simion takes us back to the world of our childhood: with photorealistic drawings, which he puts on paper with coloured pencil, he brings toys back to life. Through the incredible attention to detail and impressive depth of field, Simion manages to give the toys a new presence. The haptics and materiality of the objects seem so present that the very next moment they slip away from the flickering illusion. In this fusion of reality and illusion, the boundaries between memory and the present also become blurred.

In addition to this theoretical exploration of images, ‘The Toybox’ also encourages reflection on the current challenges of our time: In view of increasing digitalisation and the growing consumption of screen media, the question arises as to how we can encourage our children's creativity and imagination when their world is increasingly dominated by mobile phones, consoles and TV sets. And: What actually characterises a good toy?

With ‘The Toybox’, Kevin Simion creates an archive of memories and at the same time reflects on the connection between creativity and physical presence - or even physical absence, through the creation of illusionary spaces.