The world has run out of oil. Planes cannot fly and cars are obsolete. Manitoba exports almost all the electricity it produces to desperate foreign markets. But humanity refuses to admit defeat and these new problems are met with unexpected answers.

This is the world of The Remix City, a new exhibit from local artist, architect and DJ, Kevin Fawley.

In a series of nine intricate pieces based around hand-cut Xerox prints of old black and white photographs, Fawley patches together images of Winnipeg’s past to create its ominous future.

Mashed up pictures of the city from the early 20th century immediately seem wrong. The reason quickly becomes obvious: the old-fashioned streetcars don’t have wheels. They have grasshopper legs.

The blurry historical images also catch the eye in an uncanny way by playing with planes of reference. Changing focus from one object to another causes the dystopian cityscapes to shift uneasily.

Looking beyond the photographs reveals a further layer. Acetone transfers, charcoal and graphite faintly show the memory residue of city skylines behind the collage of crookedly jutting construction. Ghosts of cowboys are almost invisible as they ride alongside Fawley’s post-automobile Trans-Canada high-speed corridor.

The Remix City lies in a temporal grey zone. A girl from the 1960s sits on an insectoid streetcar beside an elderly couple clearly pulled from before the turn of the century. This black and white future has something to say about progress, both historical and artistic.

Fawley has created a consistent and believable world with deep and terrifying landscapes familiar enough to be uncomfortable and strange enough to be beautiful.

The Remix City is on display until Monday, Nov. 15 at the RAW Gallery, located in the basement at 290 McDermot Ave. A closing party will be held on Friday, Nov. 12 at 8 p.m. with free admission before 11 p.m. Admission is $4 after that. Kevin Fawley will DJ. Visit tinyurl.com/remixcity for RAW Gallery hours and kevinfawley.com for an artist bio.

Published in Volume 65, Number 10 of The Uniter (November 4, 2010)