The Maybe People

Griebel decided to make the jump into entirely figurative works, because he felt his work was becoming too introspective. Because he was using models he knew his older work started to lose a universal appeal. But backing away from that personal information and building stand-ins for his models he’s arranged things in a way to allow a more multi-layered reading.

In lieu of real human models, Griebel set up mini installations in his studio and painted those. He sculpted models out of dirt, bricks and even baked a gingerbread man to paint its portrait.

The final works continue Griebel’s investigation into the negotiation of identity. Looking into what it means to be a person, Griebel was fascinated by the breadth of folk tales featuring inhuman characters in an existential debate over what it means to be human. It’s an interesting idea, especially when actual people are impetus behind the works.

“It causes them to question themselves in some ways. Everyone likes a painted portrait of themselves but when it’s edited down to a few scraps of their belongings it makes you question what needs to be filled in about them into that shell.”

About half the works are self-portraits. They deal with thinking about his own personality, and what are the things that would be left as symbols of his life if he were to die today.

In one self-portrait a cut out drawing of Griebel lays on a table. It reflects Griebel’s feeling that he spends so much time in his studio that he lives more in his canvases than in real life. It seems that the aspiring Geppetto, may be more of a Pinocchio after all.

The Maybe People will be on display from Sat October 18 – Sun November 2 at Toronto’s Bau-Xi Gallery.

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