At first glance, Ryan Travis Christian’s work might transport you into the world of an old cartoon. Figures drawn with a cartoonish aesthetic in stark black and white open the doors to a familiar realm. Yet, this simplicity is deceptive. Beneath the surface, in his series titled Time Is Hardcore, Christian conceals profound and often unsettling stories about time, taboos, and the human condition.
The artist’s grayscale palette forms the foundation of this universe, evoking both nostalgic warmth and a dreamlike sense of timelessness. The characters inhabiting this stage are reflections of Christian’s inner world: enigmatic birds, indifferent cats, and, most notably, personified clocks representing time itself. Each is an actor in the surreal theater crafted by the artist.
Christian examines time as a universal experience and a “strange language” that everyone speaks but no one fully understands. Through this language, he confronts the deepest taboos, using humor as a shield. His art may appear playful and straightforward at first, but it is, in truth, a bold journey into the complex and darker corners of the human psyche.
Ultimately, Ryan Travis Christian’s work invites viewers into a layered exploration. Presented through a vintage animation aesthetic, this world is as familiar as it is alien, as humorous as it is thought-provoking. He masterfully reveals the strangeness within the ordinary and the profound meaning behind the simplest line.
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