Teleny: Diogo Gama

Authority, literature, humor and identity rest at the heart of Diogo Gama’s ‘Teleny’ series. First exhibited in 2023, the series draws its name from the 1893 anonymous London novel Teleny, or The Reverse of the Medal. Attributed to Oscar Wilde, the novel’s decidedly homoerotic narrative challenged the structured Victorian values dominant during the 19th century in Britain. Gama’s discovery of thebook at the age of 10 left a lasting impression on the artist, ultimately materialising in the series of paintings and embroidered works exhibited in 2023.

Anonymity resonates throughout the series, as Gama obscures the original source imagery of his paintings. F for Fake (2020), titled in reference to popular culture in Orson Welles’s 1973 film about forgery and art theft, composes two monks in devout prayer. Gama refuses to divulge the original source material, instead proffering two frogs emerging from the mouths of the human figures. This tongue in cheek use of symbols both recognizes and makes fun of the art historical narrative the painting is founded upon. While the monks may be sourced from 14th century French illustrated manuscripts, the use of frogs as comic relief more closely draws Gama into association with Martin Kippenberger and David Salle. Kippenberger’s 1990 Fred the frog rings the bell parodies religiouslycharged symbols; Fred is dressed and crucified as Jesus Christ, tongue hanging from the character’s mouth with a pint of beer in hand. Salle’s readily recognizable use of cartoon imagery interrupted by disjointed compositions is like Gama’s close cropping of cartoonish figures in the paper square glued to board.

Gama’s source material varies widely between the paintings in the series. Write Me or Ride Me (after W.W. Denslow) assembles figures from William Wallace Denslow’s illustrations in L. Frank Baum’s 1900 book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Four of the story’s flying green monkeys lift Dorothy, Toto, and the Tin Man against a pale green background. Whimsy abounds in this playful rendition of childhood imagery. By adopting Denslow’s illustrations from the Wizard of Oz series, Gama encourages his audience to identify with his paintings through the renowned popularity of Baum’s beloved books and the 1939 film adaptation The Wizard of Oz. These paintings are excellent examples of Gama’s ability to subvert popular imagery to his own playful purposes.

A consideration of materiality is also important to note in Gama’s practice. Within the ‘Teleny’ works, Gama utilizes a variety of supports and art making techniques to exhibit his range of abilities. In the aforementioned paintings, Gama uses acrylic paint on paper mounted on board. This choice of paper mounted on board suggests a tactile, more craftlike approach to painting. Only one painting from the series, Untitled (Bunny Conference), uses oil on canvas. The use of thin paper glued to board flattens F for Fake, reinforcing the flat line used to illustrate the figures in the painting. In the lower section of the painting, the paper has torn from the board. Write Me or Ride Me (after W.W. Denslow) uses two pieces of paper together as a canvas for his painting, with the right edge of the paper torn rather than neatly aligned like the left side of the paper. Gama makes his process visible, using tears and rough edges as a compositional tool rather than rough treatment of material. Grounding the paper paintings against a backdrop of black painted board effectively alleviates more traditional aspects of painting. This focuses the audience instead on his closely cropped compositions of borrowed imagery. Other works from Gama are made using embroidered fabrics, such as The Smell of Blue (2022) and Before I forget, Teleny Sweats, Albeit Covertly, Elsewhere (2023). The addition of embroidered works in the series reinforces thecraftlike elements of Gama’s practice. He still, however, effectively alludes to found imagery like that of Foux Real music videos in Before I forget.

Engaging with the work of Diogo Gama, and particularly the ‘Teleny’ series, is rewarding. By using materials which reconstruct the barrier between high and low art, Gama encourages his audience to recognize familiar chords from their own lived experiences. While the foundations of Teleny, or The Reverse of the Medal are cloaked in anonymity, Gama’s work is distinctly identifiable. We see Gama, and he encourages us to see ourselves.

Diogo Gama (b. 1998, Almeida, PT) lives and works in London where he graduated from the MFA Fine Art from Goldsmiths University of London in 2022 . Solo and group exhibitions highlights are "Half Empty" (duo) at Buraco, Lisbon, Portugal; "TELENY" (solo) at General Assembly, London, UK (2023); “Kenophobic Pantomimes” at Below Grand Gallery, NYC, USA (2023); “Ghost Show” Bussey building, London (2023) ; “Klar Bray Tende, Ree” Arnis Residency, Germany (2022); “Date Baile” Galeria Zé dos Bois, Lisbon, Portugal (2022); “Synesthesia” Goldsmiths, London, UK (2022); “Auto Gibberish” (solo) hArts lane Gallery, London (2022); “A Hunted Time” at Casa Capitão, Lisbon, Portugal (2021); “Penultimatum” Copeland Gallery, London, UK (2020); “Sobre of fruto da máquina” Egeu, Lisbon, Portugal (2019); “Stock Up on Air” Nunnery Gallery, London, UK (2018) amongst others.

He has had his work reviewed at Umbigo Magazine, The Times and in Pilot Press London “Responses to untitled (eye with a comet, Paul Thek)”. His work is included in private collections in Portugal, the UK, United States and Germany.