Are idle hands the devil’s workshop? In the case of artist Denver Ferguson (b. 1985, Saint Lucia), they seem to be vessels that channel visions from other planes. Ferguson’s creation process closely intertwines with his routine as a cashier at the Upper Valley Co-op in White River Junction, Vermont. He creates his works during slower moments of his work on scrap papers from the grocery store. The act of drawing itself plays a part in channeling Ferguson’s anxiety from when he first moved to Vermont, after the Hurricanes Maria and Irma devastated his home in the US Virgin Islands. Throughout the years, the constant practice has built a loose mythology of sorts. For the large part, Ferguson’s artworks depict unfamiliar creatures rendered in details that contrast their small dimensions. Apparent influences range from his very own Caribbean culture, science fiction, and comic book illustrations—creating a whole that feels otherworldly. These creatures, figures, or cast of characters are presented as is, looking straightforward into the viewer as if posing for an ID card or mugshot. Some of them offer a semblance of familiarity with animals in our reality—sporting features like horns, fins, or colorful scales—and some are entirely foreign, with incomprehensible technologies attached or even augmented to their bodies. Metamorphosis by Random Man Editions and Kishka Gallery compiles Ferguson’s works from 2017–2026. The book records the gradual changes in artstyle and expansion of its universe. We first see black and white sketches, which turn into colorful drawings atop a white background. By the end, the creatures are rendered in lush colors against psychedelic backgrounds that also act as a small window into these mysterious characters’ world(s). Observed closer, the figures’ features and expressions propose something that we associate with their innate characteristics; good, evil, greedy, wise, untrustworthy, and so on—but are our (earthly) assumptions true? Do they even apply? After all, what we assume to be true of these characters might differ wildly from each other. Presented neutrally, our minds are called on to fill the gaps and imagine the story ourselves. The characters metamorph, and so do the stories we imagine them living in. — Almer Mikhail