Yunizar’s new sculptures such as Dinosaur and Baby Monster build on his signature subjects of surreal, primordial creatures that provoke both fear and awe—blurring the line between the earthly and ethereal. Curator Clare Lilley best described this paradox in Yunizar’s oeuvre: “His work brings to mind images of childhood,” she says. “But with dark hints of mystery or estrangement.”

The paradox here lies in the title, Dinosaur or Monster, which feels at odds with these unthreatening creatures, depicted in the artist’s signature naïveté aesthetic. While being three dimensional, there’s an element of flatness in it. While provoking humor and absurdity, the face appears distressed, almost terrified, with its large, round eyes gazing into the distance with uncertainty. Like in his paintings, the subjects in Yunizar’s sculptures may at first appear outwardly innocent and ‘naive’, but upon closer inspection are filled with depth, complexity and sophistication.

“The entry concludes by positing a riddle which goes something along these lines. [It] is on one hand seemingly without aesthetic merit; on another “it does not mean that Yunizar’s works are not aesthetically pleasing.”

This is not a matter of double-dealing, not an instance of having the cake and eating it. It signals complexities and contradictions, difficulties even when apprehending [it] and interpreting it; and when seeing such works that are contemporary.”

– ‘On Seeing Yunizar’s Sculptures’ by TK Sabapathy from the book Yunizar: New Perspectives