Have you ever encountered a piece of art or body of work — on subjects that are so common in our daily lives yet easily overlooked — and wondered ‘I see this subject every day but I’ve never thought of it like this before’? Artist Brian Fouhy is one who creates works that make us ponder upon that question all day.

“Wherever I go, I always make an effort to wander and explore to see what I can find. I most enjoy getting ‘lost’ which is where things can get interesting.” Fouhy’s art comprise of common everyday things that open up new topics and stretches our creativity in a whimsical way. Injecting all of his works with a shot of humour, he prompts us to take a second look at the things that surround us each day, things that we tend to ignore unknowingly or take for granted. 

 

[ Collecting Words ]

Collecting Words is an ongoing project where artist Brian Fouhy captures images of words; single words, phrases, words in graffiti, signage, all kinds of words found across the United States and the world. In this book, Fouhy used more than 700 words collected in photos to create short narratives; by arranging different words together to make sense, or sometimes to create mini stories that go beyond logic.

In this project, Fouhy also touches on the generation’s short attention span and the habit of reading. “By presenting the narratives this way it also seemed to help contrast what the idea of a story and reading can be. If the words you read are photographs, does it still count as reading?” Definitely something to think about.

 

 

[ Occupied ]

Occupied is Fouhy’s second book: a collection of urinals across the United States — used, photographed and documented by Fouhy himself. Paired with each photograph are additional information such as time spent at each, liquids consumed, weather conditions and distances from random but relevant points of interest, all of which adds another layer to the experience beyond a “standard visit to the loo”. 

Through this fun and whimsical book, Fouhy debunks the taboo surrounding the topic of toilets. It is as if he is taking us with him to peek behind the closed doors of bathrooms, and opened our eyes to these unusual objects that perform a very necessary task.