The Chelsea Eye Art Gallery is proud to announce the solo art exhibition of KRYS FOX,
NYC’s Underground King of photography and fashion.
Join us for a red carpet opening and wine reception on
Friday, October 3, from 6-9 p.m.
Krys will be unveiling his very awaited STYX series. Come be part of history!
Music by Super Star DJ Michael Formika Jones and
Bar by Scottish Francis. Door: Siren Chip Cirrhosis. Curated by Tracy Von Becker-Legge.
Krys Fox’s STYX SERIES obtains its inspiration from two sources: first from Greek mythology and the rituals surrounding the River Styx. In the myth, the dead would have coins placed over their eyes as payment for Charon the Ferryman to deliver them across the River Styx to the afterlife. Fox has always been fascinated with Greek myths and the image of coins or flowers over the eyes of the dead.
Secondly, the series deals with the subject of Memento Mori, which translates to “remember your mortality,” an artistic theme dating back to antiquity. It is meant to celebrate life and remind the viewer to live their life to its fullest. Memento Mori photography began in turn-of-the-century Victorian death portraits. The cameras of the time couldn’t shoot live subjects due to slow shutter speeds, so often the recently deceased would be posed and shot in eerily lifelike, beautiful portraits.
These two inspirations are melded together by Fox to create a photo series about life and death, a quilt of the people in his life and how he sees their relation to him. The series currently involves more than 300 subjects, ranging from friends and loved ones to celebrities, children, strangers and the homeless. Originally the images were directly associated to the Greek myth, using coins and subjects lying down in a death pose. Over the course of three years of largely improvised shooting, they have evolved to include all sorts of totems, including nature, found objects and personal items belonging to the subjects.
This ongoing series will eventually include 500 people and will culminate into a coffee table.
