Plastic, green army men are staples in children’s arsenals of toys. Every day, innocent kids play with the mass-produced figurines, tiny symbols of war.
Damian K. Wildfong’s new exhibit, Peace Juxtaposed, explores this paradigm of children and innocence with war and violence “through the lens of an iconic and polarizing symbol.”
The exhibit consists of four pieces, all 36-by-24 inches. Each black canvas features a peace sign made of fluorescent army men. Wildfong said the pieces are a “commentary on how we live our lives seeking peace and happiness, but on the flip slide we allow children to play with war toys.”
The show will be featured at Hatchway Gallery, a couple of white walls housed in a room of the Florida Avenue Brewing Company. The show's opening reception is tonight, Thurs., Feb. 27, 7-10 p.m., and the pieces will be up until March 25.
This is Hatchway Gallery’s second exhibit. Vince Kral, a local artist who works at the USF Contemporary Art Museum, is the brain behind the fledgling gallery.
The owners of the Florida Avenue Ales Brewing Co. wanted to diversify the tasting room events this year. Kral told them that if they whitewashed a couple of walls, he’d find the artists.
Over the holidays, Kral’s idea was put into motion. Kral will continue to fill the new gallery with local artists’ work monthly.