​Delirio del'Arte
Professional Idiots
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Olago
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Idiot Attributes: Juggling, Mask Work, Comedic Improv, Musical Performance
Olago (Holly Grove ) creates performances and conceptual artworks. By referencing romanticism, grand-guignolesque black humor, and symbolism, Olago often creates several practically identical works, upon which thoughts that have apparently just been developed are manifested: notes are made and then crossed out again, ‘mistakes’ are repeated.
His performances are on the one hand touchingly beautiful, on the other hand painfully attractive. Again and again, the artist leaves us orphaned with a mix of conflicting feelings and thoughts. By parodying and exaggerating certain formal aspects inherent to our contemporary society, he creates work through labor-intensive processes which can be seen explicitly as a personal exorcism ritual. They are inspired by a quarter-century tradition of works, in which an ideal of ‘Fulfilled Absence’ was seen as the pinnacle.
His works are saturated with obviousness, mental inertia, clichés, and bad jokes. They question the coerciveness that is derived from the more profound meaning and the superficial aesthetic appearance of an image. By manipulating the viewer to create confusion, he makes works that can be seen as living-portraits. Sometimes they appear idiosyncratic and quirky, at other times, they seem like a typical by-product of idiocracy.
His works are often classified as part of the new romantic movement because of the desire for the local in the unfolding globalized world. However, this reference is not intentional, as this kind of art is part of the collective memory. Olago currently lives and works in Hunker Hauser.
