Sergio Toporek

From humble beginnings as a rebellious mass of hydrogen and helium at the center of a star, I have magically transformed into a very lucky carbon-based life-form. I took my first breath during the summer of 1970 in Mexico City, and have somehow managed to keep my name, even as I was unable to retain a single atom of my original body.
I studied graphic design at the Universidad Iberoamericana, photography at Centro Cultural Arte Contemporáneo, direction at the New York Film Academy and visual arts at the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design. That said, most of what really matters I have learned from those who call me “Gigio”, “Flaquito”, “Topo”, “Topil”, “ Flacucho”, “el más malcriado de todos mis hijos” and “Bijo” (for a full list of nicknames, please contact my friends and family).
Since 1993 I have created art for more than 70 cds working with latin celebrities such as Luis Miguel, Maná, Aleks Syntek, El Tri, Fey, Ricardo Arjona, Paulina Rubio, Ximena Sariñana and Café Tacuba.
For this work I was invited, as a screening committee member, to the first two installments of the Latin Grammys.
Parallel to my commercial work I am continually delving into the nature of perception, representation and reality. Through research and creative experimentation, this practice has evolved into the work I share with you on my website (www.toporek.com). I am currently an instructor of visual communications at the Vancouver Film School.
I am inspired by Jorge Luis Borges, Antoine de Saint Exupéry, Maya Angelou, Octavio Paz, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Al-Khwarizmi, Albert Einstein, Fritjof Capra, Richard Feynman, David Bohm, Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, The Dalai Lama, Chögyam Trungpa, Matthieu Ricard, Martin Luther King Jr., Jane Goodall, Lawrence Lessig, Mike Reynolds, Muhammad Yunus, Warren Buffet, Bill Strickland, Constantin Brâncuşi, Emily Carr, Rufino Tamayo, Anish Kapoor, Bob Dylan, Café Tacuba, Chet Atkins, Beck, Leonard Cohen, Sam Cooke, Silvio Rodriguez, Neil Young, Brazilian music, Futurama, Pixar movies, documentaries, traveling, sunlight, Canadian geese, japanese prints, tasty soups and, above all, silence and acts of kindness.
I spend most of my time between Vancouver and Mexico City, but aspire to become a citizen of the World.