Black-and-white bodies in meditative poses are juxtaposed with geometric fluorescent forms in Thomas Dozol’s recent series of silkscreen prints. The New York-based artist began to experiment with the stencil technique about a year ago, evolving a practice that begins in the studio with traditional film, and ends with vivid pigments at the serigraph. “I was tired of the physicality of photographic prints,” explains Dozol of the shift. Working with a cast of models—friends, associates, some a mixture of both—the artist directed his subjects to gaze into the void prior to isolating the portraits from their original setting and placing them into bright, abstracted architectural contexts. “Most of our interactions are virtual and our bodies are these objects left behind,” he says. “So I asked people to be in a half-asleep zone, like sculpture, as though not completely alive.” The series will feature in Dozol’s solo exhibition Côtes d’Azurs, opening at London's French Riviera gallery this week, following a busy year for the artist that has included a solo show at the Jack Hanley Gallery in New York and a group exhibition at Palais de Tokyo in Paris. This time, the series will come to life beneath the glow of black lights: “I just want the space to mimic what the prints were trying to convey.” 

Thomas Dozol's Côtes d’Azurs will be on view from November 16 to December 16, 2012, at French Riviera, 309 Bethnal Green Road, London E2 6AH.