Fantich & Young artworks address parallels between social evolution and evolution in the natural world: Nature as model or nature as threat.

The work critiques theories that originated in 1860 by the political philosopher Herbert Spencer that have become known as Social Darwinism. 

The work investigates the themes of competition, social hierarchy, winners and losers, invaders and the invaded, persecutors and the persecuted and the grey areas in-between.

The work encompasses a conceptual and aesthetical approach to the sculptural juxtaposition of symbolic ready-made materials. 

Mariana Fantich, born and raised in the Ukraine, is an artist and digital media specialist and Dominic Young is an English artist and musician. Since 2008, they have collaborated under the name Fantich & Young and are currently based in London’s East End. The duo juxtaposes and manipulates symbolic ready-made objects and materials in order to parallel both natural and social evolution, calling into question the theory of natural selection with nods to ceremonial ritual and the supernatural – a concept they term Darwinian Voodoo.

Their Apex Predator project, an outgrowth of Darwinian Voodoo, was inspired by the 2008 financial crisis. Luxury consumer goods augmented with ritualistic items such as teeth, bones, and hair represent the banking community and its escape from criminal prosecution. Darwin’s notion of “survival of the fittest” is called into question when society is faced with banks whose criminal actions went unpunished. The financiers thus become the titular Apex Predator–topping the food chain, facing no real threat, and possessing perhaps a touch of the supernatural.

Fantich & Young’s works critique the tenets of Social Darwinism, challenging the idea of human supremacy by emphasizing our animalistic natures. As an alternative, they advocate for a greater focus on collaboration rather than competition. Despite the highly academic theories underpinning their work, however, the pair encourage viewers to derive their own meanings, citing Duchamp’s statement that the viewer adds an important dimension to the creative act.

The strong public reaction to Apex Predator, and the plethora of interpretations that resulted, showcases Fantich & Young’s ability to effectively merge the creative disciplines of fine art, design, and fashion.

Fantich & Young

Website: www.fantichandyoung.co.uk
Email address: info@fantichandyoung.co.uk

About

Mariana Fantich (Ukraine) and Dominic Young (UK) are East London based artists that started collaborating in 2008 and have since then been known as Fantich & Young.

Fantich & Young’s body of work entails a conceptual and aesthetical approach to the sculptural juxtaposition of symbolic ready-made materials. Their work addresses parallels between social evolution and evolution in the natural world: Nature as model or nature as threat.

Through our art we investigate and question themes that relate to the concepts put forward by the 19th century political philosopher Herbert Spencer that became wildly known as Social Darwinism. Social Darwinism is a complex subject but in short it is the application of Charles Darwin’s evolutionary concept of natural selection to human society. Our work covers concepts that relate to competition, social hierarchy, winners and losers, persecutors and persecuted, invaders and the invaded and the grey areas in-between.

Education

Mariana Fantich

• Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education Art, Design and Communication, University of the Arts London
• Master of Fine Arts in Media, Slade School of Art, University College London
• Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art, Middlesex University
• Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art, Lviv National Academy of Arts, Ukraine

Dominic Young

• Master of Arts in Printmaking, Camberwell College of Arts
• Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art, Guildhall University

Solo Exhibitions

2019 – Radford University Art Museum, Covington Center, Radford, Virginia, USA
2017 – Darwinian Voodoo, Wynwood Arts District, Miami, Florida, USA
2015 – Apex Predator | Darwinian Voodoo, Projects+Gallery, St. Louis, USA
2012 – Artist Open Studio, Fantich & Young Studio, London, UK
2011 – Double Games, Red In Tooth And Claw, See Studio, London, UK
2010 – Artist Open Studio, Fantich & Young Studio, London, UK

Group Exhibitions

31.10.2020 – 06.06.2021 – On Everyone’s Lips. From Pieter Bruegel to Cindy Sherman at The Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg

2020 – Taschen – Ikonen & Wertanlagen, Spielzeug Welten Museum Basel
2018 – A Queen Within: Adorned Archetypes, New Orleans Museum of Art, USA
2018 – RESPECT: Hip-Hop Style & Wisdom, The Oakland Museum of California (OMCA), USA
2018 – Heaven or Hell, Cube Design Museum, Netherlands
2018 – “XOXO,” Des Lee Gallery, St Louis, USA
2017-18 – See Yourself E(x)ist, Pratt Manhattan Gallery, NY, USA
2017 – Shoetopia, The Valade Family Gallery, Detroit, USA
2017 – High Heels, Die hohe Kunst der Schuhe, Internationale Künstler und Designer, OT Lichtenwalde, Germany
2017 – The Object as Mirror, Projects+Gallery, St Louis, USA
2016 – A Queen Within: Adorned Archetypes, Art Seen Cultural Centre, Miami, USA
2016 – Darwinian Voodoo, BBT Luxury Lifestyle Expo, ADNEC, Abu Dhabi
2016 – People & Other Creatures, Projects+Gallery, St Louis, USA
2016 – Haute Hip Hop, Projects+Gallery, St Louis, USA
2016 – WILD, Inspirations space, Hall 7, Maison & Objet, Paris
2015 – Utopian Bodies, Liljevalchs Konsthall, Stockholm, Sweden
2014 – White Perspectives, Somerset House, London, UK
2014 – History Under Your Feet, Spielzeug Welten Museum, Basel, Switzerland
2014 – Shoe Show, 360 Mall, Main Atrium, Al Zahra, Kuwait
2014 – The Threadneedle Prize 2014: Figurative Art Today, Mall Galleries, London, UK
2014 – Shoeting Stars, Museum Hundertwasser, Vienna, Austria
2014 – Friday Late, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK
2013 – Auf Schritt und Tritt, Villa Rot Museum, Burgrieden, Germany
2013 – Creekside Open 2013 Selected by Ceri Hand, A.P.T. Gallery, London, UK
2013 – Starker Auftritt!, Grassi Museum of Applied Arts, Leipzig, Germany
2013 – Skin No. 1, Oukan, Concept Store for Japanese and International Avant-Garde, Berlin, Germany
2012 – Juxtaposition, See Studio, London, UK
2012 – On Fire, Old Fire Station, London, UK
2012 – Is This A Warning?, New Inn Yard, London, UK
2009 – Art of the Stitch, Museum of Applied Arts, Budapest, Hungary
2009 – Art of the Stitch, Fundación Valentín de Madariaga – MP, Seville, Spain
2008 – Art of the Stitch, Deutsches Textilmuseum, Krefeld, Germany
2008 – Art of the Stitch, Waterhall Gallery, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Birmingham, UK