Child’s Play

Sniff Without

“I could not have anticipated the popularity of this breed/pose/series. The piece was commissioned by a Mexican man who was living in Brussels at the time. I think he had seen some of my work at The Royal Academy. He did not want any guns on his dog and his wife didn’t want any Barbie dolls, so essentially, no sex or aggression. It was quite a challenge as guns are particularly useful in creating the forms that I use. As it happened, I had found a lot of flowers in a car boot sale as well as train tracks, which helped to solve the problem. I particularly like the colors within the piece and it is now one of my all time favorites. I talked a bit too much with the client over e-mail about this, a man who used to produce rock and roll. Maybe I will visit both of them one day…”

Toy Soldier/Toy Angel

“They are modern versions of these two icons, and both are loaded with various ‘aids’ to increase their power potential that is necessary in contemporary life. These are part of a series, which I think of as my ‘Savior Series’, meaning if we need help, who will provide it? I was invited to show in a garden exhibition in rural England. Looking back, I wonder why I was included. After the invitation and agreeing to placement on the front lawn, the curators tried to position the sculptures around the back in the bushes, at which point I withdrew the pieces. Here they are back on the front lawn…where they belong.”

Toy Boy/ Toy Girl

“If Toy Boys are OK, there should also be Toy Girls too. These are the first two life sized figures that I made using toys and are about five years old now. They were built in a cow shed in Cornwall, England. I was still working out the idea, and I have much affection for the pair despite their slightly zombie-like appearance. They both have been shown quite heavily: Milan for a week, six months in a Trafalgar Square Hotel window, London Art Fairs, a gallery in Bath, one in Paris, another in Cornwall etc…Toy Boy recently moved into the foyer of Ripley’s Museum No1 Piccadilly in London. Toy Girl was auctioned for charity at the Hotel de Ville in Paris. I like this picture at lot. Mostly I prefer my own photos of my work if I am honest because I know what the sculptures are supposed to do.”

Rabbit Rabbit

“Created this year, it is a more simplistic piece from my solo show in Paris this March. She is now in the collection of Jean Louis Servan Schreiber, who now has several pieces of mine, including 3m high dogs head made of scouring pads in his Sculpture Garden at Samsara in Provence. I discovered the clothes pegs whilst looking for a way of representing fur and feathers in plastic.”