The miniature animal figurine exists uneasily in the contemporary home. Although enduringly popular in many households, these icons of kitsch have become unfashionable and low-brow, even embarrassingly sentimental. Inspired by museum taxidermy dioramas, old ladies’ windowsill displays and tacky religious kitsch, these surreal reappropriations of figurines aim to bring them out of the domestic environment and into a ceramic domain of their own. Sourced from car boot sales and junk shops, an eclectic range of creatures is given a new story. By giving the animal figurine a narrative beyond the decoration of our living rooms, these dioramas subvert our expectations of these objects and elevate them beyond their social status, in turn perhaps providing hope to the closeted figurine collector.
In this collection, colourful ceramic ‘habitats’ show figurines in what might be their natural surroundings. The figures are inserted into a diorama scene in a similar way a piece of taxidermy might be. The lush vegetation reflects the qualities of the creatures, whilst simultaneously being at odds with them.