by Kelley Walker (Artist), Jeffrey Uslip (Editor), Jeffrey Uslip (Text by (Art/Photo Books))
Since the early 2000s, Kelley Walker has developed a body of work that alters and subverts some of the most ubiquitous cultural, political, and social signifiers of our contemporary society. Using the potency of advertising strategies, his work interrogates the ways a single image can migrate into a number of cultural contexts, how meaning constantly shifts, and how everything and everyone is subject to reinvention -- just as the iconic recycling symbol he uses in numerous manifestations might ironically suggest. He explores authorship and authenticity, the manipulation and repurposing of images and material from the public domain in order to destabilize issues of identity, race, class, sexuality, consumerism, and politics. This comprehensive monograph is published as the editorial sequel to Kelley Walker's Direct Drive solo exhibition at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis (autumn 2016).