“IN BLOOM”
Tyler’s first collage show titled “IN BLOOM” was on display at C’Mon Everybody in Brooklyn, New York, from August 1 through September 8, 2019. Inspired by the relationship between nature and sex, Tyler explored how these subjects talk to - and fuck - each other. Many of the pieces shown incorporate surreal punches of landscape or objects, not just flowers and plants. How does pornography, which is usually considered raunchy and vulgar, contrast with delicate and fragile flowers?
The show was comprised with fifteen original hand-cut collages, and six digital collages. In conjunction with the opening of “IN BLOOM”, Tyler also published a zine called BLOOMERS, which was only available opening night and to those who purchased pieces. A dozen copies are still available here.
Several hand-cut collages and all digital collages are available here.
“A fantasy is a world without limitations. It is a book, a film, a show, an album. As a kid, fantasy is the pretend stories you tell in your backyard. It’s in the books you write on looseleaf paper clasped in binders. These outward facing fantasies turn inward with age. They turn into thoughts of hips, touch, and friction. I’ve found that relying on the world behind my eyes is one of the best ways to combat the tough shit in this world. A tool to use when your real life doesn’t stack up to what you picture for yourself. Not quite a dream, something more real because you can feel it in the nerve endings of your body. Quickening your pulse and heating your blood. Most importantly, fantasy is in your head and your body, an energy seemingly on the tip of materialization.
This is a show about how those fantasies evolved. I pulled what was in my head into reality. The friction, touch, and hips that didn’t exist in reality; I made physical. They came not from a place of disappointment but from a place of ambition, to push the boundaries of what I want to see realized. A desire to render the worlds I saw in my head onto the 9x12 canvases around you. Collage as mental masturbation.
I hope that you discover something about yourself here. I hope that they transport you to a place where you can be free of gravity, ghosting, and gonorrhea. That maybe your blood starts flowing a little faster, your nerve endings fire up. To say that we were here at the same time and shared a fantasy together. “Bloomers” is a visual journal of thoughts around “IN BLOOM”: how I feel about love, sex, relationships, lust, heartbreak, men, New York City. The word “Bloomers” to me can refer to people who are discovering themselves, budding flowers, or underwear; so I thought the name fit quite perfectly with the ambition and intimacy of this show. I’ve kept a journal my entire life and thought it would be nice to share this to coincide with my first art show. You and I won’t be here forever but at least for a moment we can share a thought, an experience, a page.”
