Less overtly comical than his other zines but still whimsical, Canadian-born, Brooklyn-based artist Jason McLean’s Where Could Am I catalogs the results of his online searches for housing in Canada. In this black-and-white series, each listing receives one page, with a quick sketch of the residence, its market price, some basic features, and geographic location. The included listings spread across Ontario to New Brunswick to Nova Scotia.
“Recording his daily experiences, observations, and personal stories in a range of media, Jason McLean has likened his work to a ‘mental map.’ He cites Ray Johnson, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Raymond Pettibon as artistic influences, though he also draws inspiration from his children’s drawings, bottle cap designs, stamp art, frozen pizza boxes, and found objects that pique his interest. Recalling the automatic drawings of surrealist artists, his bright, graphic collages and works of ink on paper feature a web of semi-connected words and themes related to pop culture, daily life, and McLean’s inner world and struggles with schizophrenia.” — Artsy