You probably already know this artist’s work; time and time again it goes viral. His name is Tom Galle, and he is a creative based in New York City. Galle mainly pulls his inspiration from the internet and meme culture and blurs the line between the online and offline world.
His latest series takes recognizable corporate icons and fashions them into weapons, like creating a Facebook “f” logo crowbar, adapting the Nike logo into a knife and turning the McDonald’s logo into brass knuckles. These are logos most of us encounter almost every day of our lives, repurposed as actual dangerous items. This is certainly a strong statement, which is ingeniously designed to remind society of the harm that the biggest companies are causing to the planet every day. Perhaps the strongest item in the set is the Facebook crowbar. Facebook’s role in society is certainly in the public consciousness today, given the reports about its part in spreading mistruths during the last election. The metaphor of Facebook crow-barring its way into our world is certainly potent!
His provocative work has earned acclaim. To date, he’s won the Cannes Lions Grand Prix, 2 Webby awards, and a gold award at the London International Awards. Unsurprisingly, his work generates strong press attention. Vice, the Guardian, Fox News, O Magazine, The Verge, BuzzFeed and more have all either interviewed him or discussed his work in their media. Additionally, he’s produced work for a range of high profile companies. Google, Netflix, Adidas, Android, Samsung, Toyota and a whole range more are all listed as his clients.
His past pieces include a Tinder virtual reality, meat phones and even a crucifix fidget spinner. As you can probably tell from this description, his work, in some ways, is like Black Mirror, in that it examines people’s attitudes towards technology and the way that technology is shaping the human condition. In fact, some of his most successful projects sound like pitches for the next season of Black Mirror, or a similar freaky Sci-Fi show.
In February, he spoke to Vice, where he discussed his work. In terms of the projects that he most enjoys, he states, “I love it when my projects are polarizing: people either love or hate them. I get really strong reactions on most of my projects – either very positive or just straight up haters. I like going really absurd while adopting meme culture and playing around with how we use technology.” It’s clear to see that he’s achieving his aims with incredible results!
With the constantly changing state of the internet, Tom Galle’s art knows no bounds. Who knows what he’s going to produce next?