Insignias

Insignias presents an exposition of Diego Gabaldon’s continued research of masculinity, athleticism and sporting culture through a collection of found and manipulated images, tailored frames and artist-proof football jerseys. Gabaldon presents an immersive experience in Insignias, borrowing sporting analogy and logos as an immediate trigger to entering into fan culture and spectatorship. 

There is a sense of obtuse vicariousness in the many extreme, accelerated relationships of fans to their teams, especially in the age of consumerism – one that often abstracts the activity of sports itself and positions bodies of fans as fundamental: a chorus line, barricade, martyr, the nth player. Gabaldon inquires each of these dispositions, underlining the inherent desires rooted in identity and the dire demand for belonging. Noticing how these pious tropes of camaraderie amplify onto branding and merchandise, and simultaneously tracing a lineage of athletic design, Gabaldon builds upon emblems and idols of football culture into his world-building, altering identifiable insignias as channels to underscore his own visual poetics. Each tailored frame is reminiscent of the exaggerated plastic geometries of football cleats, enveloping perennial photographs of absurd emotional exertion. These composite images of “ultras”, or hyper-fans in football, are built upon layers of found and generated photographs into one believable scene, underlining the unhinged nature in mass-mentality. Jerseys pay homage to this particular daydream – a sense of kinship and an outlet for directionless exertion of pride driven by an anxious desire for success. Both pain and indulgence, the need for pride and anonymity exist in the theatrics of extreme fanship, blurring the distinction between an agitated hallucination and a hopeful dream, rendering a dystopian fantasy of masculinity in the age of mass-consumption.