Spaceman

Work in Progress

Hello Kitty figures forming the petal of a flower, ceramic.

Here are some work in progress images of my first installation titled Ike-Unko, roughly traslated to Poop Flower Arrangement. It is a project that is concerned with how kawaii is used in merchanising and the trajectory of these characters through Japanese folklore. You will see obvious references to Hello Kitty and Mr Poop. You've got to love the Japanese sense of humour!

Man as Monkey

I have been a little obsessed with Monkey business lately. The Monkey for me serves as a metaphor for what we were, what we are, and what we will one day return to. The Sleeping Monkey is a figure that appears in many of my ideas, and I am sure it will surface sometime in the near future.

Work in Progress

Transformation Nation, Ceramic

Well, the first year of my Masters course at Sydney College of the Arts is slowly coming to an end. In the last month I have been juggling writing an essay on my practice, working out chapter headings, project outline, woodfiring with the Ceramic Study Group, and a hell of a lot of studio work.

I am concurrently working on projects that incorporate the feline form. I have been conscientiously researching Japanese Pop culture in relation to Neo-Exoticism and am fascinated by the constant appearance of cats, particularly of the cutesy variety. This has lead me to investigate the culture of Kawaii (cute) in Japan and its historical background.

My first project is a direct result of the observation of this phenomenon in the world of merchandising. I have posted some work in progress images of my first installation Ike-Unko and Transformation Nation. The fact that Japan is a nation that is fascinated with childhood obsessions and invariably suffers from a Peter Pan complex is something that I am exploring in my own work by looking at merchandising products associated with Manga and Anime.