Public Matter:
Fictional Advertisements

DANIEL ARSHAM

New York-based artist, Daniel Arsham created five billboards as a nod to the Detroit automotive industry as well as international car culture. Arsham’s fascination with cars began as a youth. Settling on Porsche as his favorite car maker, Arsham ultimately purchased and restored a 1986 Porsche 911 Turbo. An image of the restored Porsche, which was re-interpreted as a 930A, is featured within the exhibition artworks creating a personal connection to Arsham. 

The billboards present fictional vintage advertisements for Arsham’s altered and eroded car artworks. These uncanny ads invite their viewers to purchase vehicles for their own journey into the past, or the future; time travel machines that can be personally owned and managed. Several of the billboards feature cars recognizable for their inclusion in popular films, thus creating a bridge to the film industry and further developing the complex narrative of the exhibition. There is a discussion at hand about the juxtaposition of eroding human-produced objects, the tenacity of geological materials that aid in efforts toward time travel, and the overall significant role time plays in the conversation. 

You won’t know for sure just how amazing these vehicles are until you turn the key and watch the crystals come alive, as the sleek body of the iconic machine shifts you through time. The future can be now, if you call your nearest dealer today.