At El Solitario we love teaming up with those street artists that rock our world and come up with limited editions like this long sleeve T we’ve made with artist Sean Mackaoui. What’s sweeter than wearing the work of your favorite artist around your neck? We originally became familiar with Sean’s work on the cover of the celebrated Canto de la Tripulacion. An incredible art magazine our common friend Alberto Garcia-Alix published in the 90s.
The figure of the crucifixion of this skeleton, (once powered by an almighty V motor), over a burning sun, couldn’t better symbolize the fatal contradictions on which El Solitario boat sails. We live in a pre-apocalyptic consumerist world in which anything can happen, but humans can’t but embrace their guts and keep going forward doing what they love most till death do as part. Still the fear of the armageddon should and is present in our iconography, in a sort of a Jiminy Cricket way, to remind us that together we could find the way to change things.
The first page of Sean Mackaoui’s website represents a little man manipulating scissors with dexterity. After a moment or two, the same animated character reappears, seated on what could be a helicopter whose propellers are made of scissors. This introduction to Mackaoui’s work could sum up both his practice and his artistic spirit: scissors are his essential work instrument. The collages he creates with them – composed from what seem banal and incongruous newspapers, advertisements and magazine cuttings – always manage to evoke a greater significance than the elements that comprise them.
His combinations of images are not optimistic in the manner of pop art, but often critical, unexpected, precise, minimalist and humorous. Mackaoui often kidnaps innocent images from vintage magazines and diabolically turns them on their heads to convey political irony, he also likes to create surrealist landscapes and humorous combinations.
Photos: ©Sean Mackaoui
Artist bio: Florence Thireau
7 Responses
Could you please make some of these in 5XL?
Are there any other Aussies here? I have started an El Sol MC BRISBANE Chapter. We are a 1%er club. If you are interested in Prospecting message me through here and we can organise to meet up in the Valley. ESFFES 13
” I refuse to join any ‘club’ that would have me as a member ”
Groucho Marx 😉
That’s ok brother. Your respect is enough.
Why are you so grumpy, brother? If our outlaw lifestyle is so stressful perhaps you should only do it a couple of days a week. But just know I will be the one chucking a mad wheelie as I come past you in the traffic jam whilst on your commute to your office job. Let your curls down and howl at the moon like the rest of the wolf pack. El Sols for life brother!! Peace and thanks for your respect.
Errr … I don’t know exactly what the 1% designation implies in the antipodes …. but here in the US the 1% moniker identifies one as a ‘ criminal ‘ biker belonging to a gang … which is the polar opposite of an El Solitario .
In other words … I have all the respect in the world for an outlaw/iconoclast/ individualist / lone wolf … even eccentrics … whereas having had first hand experience with 1%ers … my level of respect for them is ” Less than Zero ” . Ultimately all 1%ers are neo fascists at best and are as bad if not worse than the institutions they claim to rebel against
Which is to say ; I aint got no ‘ brothers ‘ and sure as hell aint lookin for one online claiming to be a 1%er
FYI; Take a closer look at the El Solitarios . They’re most definitely ( and defiantly ) not … 1%er criminal bikers . As am I . They / I are outlaws .
Here’s the full Tom Robbins quote which hopefully will help clarify the difference …..
“The difference between a criminal and an outlaw is that while criminals frequently are victims, outlaws never are. Indeed, the first step toward becoming a true outlaw is the refusal to be victimized. All people who live subject to other people’s laws are victims. People who break laws out of greed, frustration, or vengeance are victims. People who overturn laws in order to replace them with their own laws are victims. ( I am speaking here of revolutionaries.) We outlaws, however, live beyond the law. We don’t merely live beyond the letter of the law-many businessmen, most politicians, and all cops do that-we live beyond the spirit of the law. In a sense, then, we live beyond society. Have we a common goal, that goal is to turn the tables on the ‘nature’ of society. When we succeed, we raise the exhilaration content of the universe. We even raise it a little bit when we fail.
When war turns whole populations into sleepwalkers, outlaws don’t join forces with alarm clocks. Outlaws, like poets, rearrange the nightmare.
The trite mythos of the outlaw; the self-conscious romanticism of the outlaw; the black wardrobe of the outlaw; the fey smile of the outlaw; the tequila of the outlaw and the beans of the outlaw; respectable men sneer and say ‘outlaw’; young women palpitate and say ‘outlaw’. The outlaw boat sails against the flow; outlaws toilet where badgers toilet. All outlaws are photogenic. ‘When freedom is outlawed, only outlaws will be free.’ There are outlaw maps that lead to outlaw treasures. Unwilling to wait for mankind to improve, the outlaw lives as if that day were here. Outlaws are can openers in the supermarket of life.”
from ; Tom Robbins : ” Still Life with a Woodpecker “
Damn ! I just finished trawling around Sean’s website . Jesus Christos does this guy ever have a serious amount of creativity and talent with a flair for the surreal . Suffice it to say should I ever be so inclined to release another CD ( into this f’d up homogenized virtual hologram mess calling itself the music business ) I know who I’ll be hitting up for the cover art . Damn !