Treating the walls of Tate Modern’s Members’ Room as a blank canvas, Dan Perjovschi creates a witty, provocative and occasionally cutting social commentary, using drawing to deal with socially relevant issues. His work follows the tradition of political cartoonists’ drawings which link humorous observations of everyday life with ironic commentary.
In 1999 Perjovschi represented Romania at the 48th Venice Biennale. He covered the floor of the pavilion with drawings and political graffiti about life in the post-Communist era and the role of Eastern European art in the cultural exchange with the West. Sketched using black marker pens, Perjovschi’s cartoons literally vanished beneath the feet of visitors – a clear allusion to the erosion of Eastern European identity and ‘old’ art following the collapse of the Wall.
In the summer of 2004, Collective Gallery invited Perjovschi to be the unofficial artist-in-residence to the Edinburgh Festival. Perjovschi acted as a critical observer and sometime participant, mingling with writers, performers and audiences, picking up on the cultural debates and setting them within a broader global context. His playful chalk drawings were seen on regularly updated display panels at three locations within the city and in a freely distributed newspaper.
Perjovschi’s drawings always respond to the social and political context in which they are made and incorporate comments on personal, regional and international issues. His research for The Room Drawing included interviewing Tate staff members, Tate Members and representatives from Tate Modern’s Council. The results are likely to raise a few eyebrows.
Perjovschi was born in Sibiu, Romania in 1961. He lives and works in Bucharest.
