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src="http://www.woostercollective.com/images/PooOnArt0[11].jpg" align=
"right">55DSL has been on fire lately with
their art exhibitions.. Recently they mounted - with "http://www.faesthetic.com/">Faesthetic - "http://www.55dsl.com/art/poa-newyork-8-5x11.html">8.5” x 11” in the Union
Square New York store.  Then the "http://www.thelondonpolice.com">London Police hit up the "http://www.55dsl.com/art/poa-london-police-party.html">London store. href= "http://www.55dsl.com/art/poa-milan-niko-stumpo.html">Niko Stumpo (AKA
Abnormal Behaviour Child) followed up at the 55DSL store in Milan and now
55DSL Tokyo gets in on the action with the launch of “Poo on Art #1” featuring
the work of the Canadian artist Derrick Hodgson (aka "http://www.madreal.com">MADREAL). The opening took place last Friday night. 
At the show, Derrick’s debuted “Chammy” a series of the dolls made from 55DSL
denim fabric. There were also MADREAL animations and T-shirts with the MADREAL
character. Expect more “Poo on
Art” exhibitions, as “Poo” is 55DSL International’s project to support and
promote alternative art.

We featured Madreal on the Wooster site
back on the "http://www.woostercollective.com/2003_03_09_newsarchive.html#90480551">12th of
March and he’s been a favorite ever since.  John at 55DSL send over some
additional info on DerrIck. Here it is:

“Derrick was born in Canada
where he spent his childhood in a small rural community near Toronto, always in
contact with nature that nurtured
his imagination.

“All my
characters and artworks come from my imagination which is heavily influenced by
daily Ocelestial freakouts and careful observation of all creatures big and
small,”  Hodgson states. Derek attended The Ontario College of Art and after
graduating he moved to the West Coast in British Columbia where he remained for
a couple of years before going back to Vancouver and then to Toronto. In
Vancouver he started madreal.com with the help of the web designer Kyle
McIntosh. But it was in Toronto that he started to totally focus on MDRL
creative.

Derrick’s been doing some animation work with Toronto
director Jason MacFarlane and now is putting all his enthusiasm and efforts in
the Hoboyard Toy Co. project that he started with Tania Sanhueza and
which is a really good collaborative effort.

About his art, Derrick
Hodgson says:

“The majority of my imagery is based on my experiences
growing up in a small rural community north of Toronto and relating these
experiences to the expanding urban environment I find myself in at present. My
recent work has been dealing with a theme of rural meets urban and the urge to
gain control over our future in relation to an escalating lose of nature. My
paintings and drawings are depictions of monochrome mass mania, rendering
complex social spaces crowded with familiar and mutated characters. I use
repetition of character to illustrate ideas of technological advancement and the
consequences of such advancement. Aesthetically I combine aspects of cartoon,
graffiti and contemporary design to produce my own illustrative style. My Ostyle
is a fusion of imagery absorbed while growing up on the family farm and living
in my present urban setting. I rely heavily on my imagination, but base themes
for my work on reality and my immediate surroundings.”

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