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, quasi-religious displays in gilt porcelain juxtapose tweeness with narratives of divinity. A congregation of forest creatures herald the return of the giant prophetic cat; bunny acolytes surround the base of their matriarch’s throne platform; a nativity scene celebrates the immaculate conception of the child of a pair of fawns. Their glass cases reflect taxidermy display, and create a sense of sanctity around the white porcelain.