“My recent experiences leave me wondering if there is the same amount of interest in this lifestyle anymore. I began to think about the RV’s that are literally rotting in lots all over our cities and countryside... the ones, sitting — rusting beyond repair at a construction site, a storage yard, or a backyard of a rural landscape—unused in a state of disrepair.
These vehicles, wasting away, made me reflect on fading memories of my childhood spent camping in motorhomes and camper trailers, paired with recent trips revisiting some of these older and decaying campgrounds. I’m hoping that this series brings back memories to viewers who have had similar experiences with outdoor exploration and adventures while also creating an archive of these older body-style vehicles.” —Drew Leshko
Where is Home when home for you is a concept and not a place?
Throughout the twentieth century, motor homes have embodied not only ingenuity, and independence, but also hopeful quests to explore individualism. Home is a part of our self-definition, in this mobile modern society, home has the freedom to live as a flexible concept fueled by the liberty of the open road.
“Home is Where You Park It” at Paradigm Gallery in Philadelphia roams on the tales of wanderlust and exploration of identity constructed within these mobile spaces. Artist Drew Leshko filters all the kitsch commonly associated with the fads of RV culture through a creative eye that captures the nomadic impulses of its ever-changing caravans.
These sculptural works explore a transient counter-culture that’s re writing the narrative -- changing the trend of diminishing appreciations on the temporal nature of things. It nurtures the idea of being able to feel a sense of home anywhere – to create a space where reevaluation is possible. In spite of everything -- in spite of the mobility, the individualism -- on some level we do recognize the importance of place and perhaps that’s why, home is where you park it.
About the Artist
Drew Leshko is a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based artist. Working from observation and photographs, the artist painstakingly recreates everything from building facades to campers at a 1:12 scale. The scale is familiar for some viewers as standard dollhouse spec; the treatment to Leshko's work is widely different. The minute detail of his work includes city detritus such as dumpsters and pallets, which are commentary of the ideas of what is worth preserving. Accumulations of typically overlooked details and minutiae like acid rain deposits and rust become beautiful adornments.
