Return of the Doppelgangers

Harman Projects is thrilled to be teaming up with one of our favorite artists, Alex Pardee, for a holiday art experience like no other…

Return of the Doppelgangers takes us into the inner workings of the prolific Los Angeles-based creative for a journey through the nostalgia inducing horror films and characters we all love…and fear.

Following his sold out Alex in ShunderLand exhibition in 2022 and the world building No-Longers exhibition in 2023, Pardee returns to his roots with a collection of over 100 works of art dedicated to the genre that has been his safe space since childhood.

Never one to shy away from sharing his inner struggles, Alex has created a new body of artwork as a love letter to the horror films that have provided him comfort in his struggles with mental health and anxiety. As the artist says in his own words:

As selfish as it sounds, I realized I could temporarily escape my own fears by watching other people face theirs head-on. I knew that the characters’ on-screen trauma was orchestrated by a team of gleefully sadistic puppeteers. Any heightened sense of empathic fear I felt while watching these movies would vanish as soon as the credits rolled, and everything would be okay—at least until I had to face the real world again, and my brain told me otherwise.

Originally starting in 2007, the artist’s ongoing Doppelgängers series has expanded to over 300 watercolor paintings; many of these works have taken on second lives online, tattooed on the most dedicated horror fanatics and collected in self-produced books. Built around the support of a community that also loves the films and villains that provide escape, Alex’s audience knows that you can’t judge a gory, blood-covered book by it’s cover.

Return of the Doppelgangers, features Alex’s largest paintings to-date, plus over 100 original smaller format paintings, drawings, sketches, collectibles and more. Along with the artwork, Pardee has created an installation featuring a menagerie of characters and experiences that fans old and new will not want to miss. All the artwork will be available exclusively in-person at the opening, followed up an online release at HarmanProjects.com on December 19th at 10am PT.

This exhibition is free to attend and open to all ages, though some artwork may be less suitable for our younger fans.

Movies don’t create psychos. Movies make psychos more creative!

(Billy Loomis, Scream)

“I’m an anxious person. I always have been. At age 14, I was diagnosed with panic disorder, anxiety, and depression. Since then, most of my days have been spent trying to blend in with society while constantly being afraid of… well, nothing. Unknown fears. Irrational fears. Anticipatory fears. I’m afraid that a driver might suddenly swerve onto the sidewalk to hit me on purpose. Afraid that a stranger could push me off an escalator. Afraid that my heart is beating too fast. Afraid to eat before school because, what if I got sick? Afraid to fall asleep because, what if I woke up with a maniac standing at the foot of my bed? Afraid that an unknown force might sporadically invade my body and control me, like Vincent D’Onofrio in Men in black. How would I cope if any of this happened? I’d have to deal with a total loss of control.

That’s why my interests gravitated toward horror movies.

“It’s only a movie.
It’s only a movie.
It’s only a movie”.

As selfish as it sounds, I realized I could temporarily escape my own fears by watching other people face theirs head-on. I knew that the characters’ on-screen trauma was orchestrated by a team of gleefully sadistic puppeteers. Any heightened sense of empathic fear I felt while watching these movies would vanish as soon as the credits rolled, and everything would be okay—at least until I had to face the real world again, and my brain told me otherwise. So, the process would necessarily repeat:

Feel anxious.
Rent horror movie.
Insert horror movie into VCR.
Escape.
Absorb.
Be okay.

In addition to escaping reality with the help of my Hollywood Video Membership and a TV/VCR combo, I discovered that ART could also be an effective form of escapism. Naturally, combining horror movies and art became a passion that served as therapy long before it became my actual career.

Since 2007, I have painted over 300 watercolor portraits of some of my favorite monsters, villains, and characters from (mostly) horror movies. Painting this “Doppelgangers” series has been extremely therapeutic for me, and for that reason alone, I have no plans to stop anytime soon.

This new collection of over 100 newly painted portraits of monsters and maniacs is not merely a tribute to nostalgia; it is an autobiographical anthology of inspiration and escape. It represents more than 40 years of fearing the real world, and instead, devouring every horror film I could sink my teeth into—often resulting in a mouth filled with blood and a paintbrush filled with energy”.