Photo by Becca McCoy
The back patio of Drunken Taco in Gulfport had a strangely shaped half wall, and then one day in May, it suddenly became a psychedelic crocodile. Has it gotten you talking? The artist hopes so.
“Public art, street art, muralism, whatever you want to call it, is a chance to have a conversation with everybody. Everybody’s included in the conversation, may you say something or not. Simply by looking at it, you are part of the conversation as somebody who’s listening to the artist, per se. That’s a conversation that my art is now having with a bunch of strangers, and then it becomes part of the Gulfport culture,” the artist says.
That artist is Chris Dyer. Dyer came to St. Pete/Gulfport about three years ago, largely on intuition and vibes. The Peruvian-Canadian visionary artist has traveled to and painted in 45 countries and theoretically could have landed anywhere, but this area isn’t just “anywhere.”
Photo by Becca McCoy
“One of the main reasons why I moved here is because they had The Dalí Museum here, which is a psychedelic — you could call it surreal, but really, it’s a psychedelic —international art museum,” says Dyer. “And me as a psychedelic artist, I was like, ‘This is a city that can have a whole museum to somebody who was perhaps strange and weird in his time. Perhaps they will have the eye to accept my strange weirdness.’”
Where Chris Dyer Gets His Weirdness
This perceived ‘weirdness’ can be attributed to the wide-ranging influences on Dyer’s work. There are his native cultural influences, the Inca and pre-Colombian empires. Also, shamanistic tribal patterning, ’80s and ’90s graffiti and skate culture, psychedelia, and vinyls and action figure collectibles that contribute.
“I just love human culture,” Dyer told The Gabber Newspaper, “and I absorb it all, mix it up, and spit it out in the filter of my personal expression.”
Photo by Becca McCoy
“I’m turning [it] into a little playground of art,” he said of the purple-painted house he shares with his partner, artist Paulina Casati.
To preserve a comprehensive retrospective of his work, he avoids selling individual paintings. He has started buying back some of his best early works.
“A painting could take me weeks to months sometimes to do,” he said. “They are intimate groupings of energies that I want to share with everybody. I think that’s the best way to leave a little contribution to the human culture that we’re all creating together.”
Photo by Becca McCoy
Authentic and Aesthetic
Dyer is honed and distinct; authentic and aesthetic. While staying true to his principles, he built a diversified empire that keeps pace with consumer habits and technologies. He has amassed nearly a million followers across social platforms and maintains popular YouTube channels and a companion podcast.
Additionally, Dyer sold out 5,555 NFTs in 2021, creating the “Galaktic Gang” community, which thrives to this day. His brand, Positive Creations, recently turned 20 years old and has a full product line from footwear and apparel to accessories and skateboards. A documentarian, commencement speaker, commercial artist, retreat leader, live event painter, and shaman, when Dyer says he’s grateful to be “playing the video game of life,” he is certainly no NPC.
“I hope I can stay here for decades to come, serving the community,” he says. “That’s my intention.”
Learn more about Dyer at positivecreations.ca and shop his Positive Creations brand at positivecreations.net.
Arts All Around!
The Gabber Newspaper covers live theater and art across South Pinellas. And, when we find something worth the drive, we cover art in the Tampa Bay and Sarasota areas.
