CAVEMAN ON PIZZA | MICHELLE DEVEREUX

Observing the drawings of Michelle Devereux (Dallas, 1982) is a way to take a glimpse into the surreal world in which this artist resides. Although the settings of the drawings are undoubtedly unreal, almost dreamlike, some of the depicted characters are real people whom Devereux has encountered and interacted with as friends and acquaintances.

Devereux’s compositional gimmick is based on the decontextualization of the object, a shift not only in space but also in time.
Caveman on Pizza (2012) is a representative artwork of her practice: a flying pizza, a magical and surreal means of transport hovering above the floor, like a magic carpet or a kind of futuristic skateboard.
The one “riding” this skateboard is a peculiar caveman wielding a bone in his right hand and wearing a sleeveless brown fur on his shoulders, a pair of leg warmers also made of the same fur, a tiger-striped skirt, and modern sunglasses with orange lenses usually used in sports.

The caveman, depicted with the stereotype of a cartoon or comic, is the foreground figure, while the background is divided into two parts: the lower part is occupied by a floor carefully divided into precise geometric sections; on the contrary, the upper part has no clear outlines, the spots made to color what should be the sky have the nebulous and undefined strokes typical of the airbrush. In the distance, on the right side of the drawing, we can glimpse the silhouette of a metropolis. Past or future? A superhero or a time traveler? Perhaps both, the image takes us flying through time and space, dreaming, laughing, and gives us an illusion of invincibility and supremacy of good over evil.
Like the Batman symbol projected into the sky over the metropolis reminds us. Perhaps this caveman is the hero that this (imaginary) world deserves?

The contrast between prehistory and futuristic setting, along with references to popular icons like pizza and Batman, makes Caveman on Pizza an effective attempt by Devereux to transcend mere graphic representation through archetypes and fantasies that go beyond personal tastes in pizza or quirky characters. Instead, they touch on the humanity’s obsession towards food or some unconscious and hidden desires, such as the dream of flying.

Michelle Devereux
Caveman on Pizza, 2012
Colored pencil and airbrush on paper, 60,96 x 91,44 cm (24 x 36 inches)
© Michelle Devereux, courtesy of Marlborough Gallery

09/12/2023