(Sur)Reality Check: Sammy Slabbinck

Using humour as a visual tool, Sammy Slabbinck choreographs compositions that meditate on the absurdity of popular consumerist culture, both past and present. His dynamic contemporary collages are reminiscent of the great surrealist Jacques Prevert. Often witty but at the same time foreboding and dark, Slabbinck's deft hand creates a unique signature that makes each collage unequivocally his own. Belgian surrealism has another heir. With cut-outs from vintage issues of Playboy and Paris Match, Sammy Slabbinck composes his absurd universes with poetical harmony. Mangled, contestable, reversible. His retro-futuro collages hang in galleries in London; they are used as album covers and digital prints, and have featured in The New Yorker. To see Sammy Slabbinck on Channel Four news, visit https://vimeo.com/153779686; Facebook @SammySlabbinckCollage; Twitter @SammySlabbinck; Instagram @sammyslabbinck; www.sammyslabbinck.tumblr.com

Sammy Slabbinck (°1977) is a Belgian artist, whose signature work includes dynamic prints and original paper collages, combining found imagery with contemporary compositional styles.The images are cut up into pieces and redistributed, playing with exaggeration and proportion. Other times, the images are placed in reverse context, juxtaposing modern ideals with traditional states of mind. Slabbinck's eye for muted tones and surreal compositions make his work engaging, memorable and sometimes humorous. Stop motion animation videos have recently become a prominent feature of his work. He embraces social media, both to self-publicize and inspire; much of his personal work and brand advertising is posted on Vine and Instagram. His interviews/reviews feature in The New Yorker, Telegraph, AnOther Magazine, One to Watch on Saatchi art, Lomography Magazine, Yatzer, Flur Magazine, Abduzeedo, Installation Magazine and Trendland, Oh my goodness, and Beautiful decay magazine.