Midwest Wasteland is an artist duo composed of self-taught artist Anthony Lagori and School of the Art Institute of Chicago graduate Jeffrey Kaya. Beginning its life as a clothing brand at the end of 2018, Midwest Wasteland has evolved into a multidisciplinary art practice focusing on screen-printed flat works and functional sculpture. Drawing on Wasteland's brand inception Kaya and Lagori approach making work much like a clothing label, but explore broader topics including leisure activities, social interaction, coming-of-age, and social standards from a suburban Heartland perspective. The duo manipulates scale, material, the contrast between light and shadow, illustration, and seriality to create tension for the viewer calling them to consider their own experiences in relation to the work.
