Stuffed animals in art

About this article: http://www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/12253696/__Kunst_met_dode_dieren__.html

Something Dutch; an exhibition in KunstRai Amsterdam about stuffed animals used in art. The responses, as always on internet news articles, are quite negative. Apparently there is something going on about art in The Netherlands being paid by the tax payer. I believe there was a lot of criticism about one art installation being sponsored and that wasn't received well by the public and now it seems that they all assume all art is sponsored. Also, they find using these type of animals quite sensitive, especially when used in this contrastingly way. 

My art is sort of in the same area, only I don't use pet animals and also no stuffed animals. Although this is not something I would attempt, I find it interesting. Would like to see the other works to see if their message is expressed well and that it's not just about the shock effect. 

I use bones after the animal has dead long ago, mostly 6 months or much more. I think the main sensitivity is caused by the recognition of the pet animal for the simple fact that it still looks like the animal with all it's fur, expression etc.

But still it's likely that a big bunch of the public don't like my work for the same reasons. The only thing I want to point out to those that will see my work in the future; I am not paid by any taxpayer! I am purely grinding away my own hard earned savings!

Where my rubbish comes from

My waste frustration last week has been pointed towards sports drinks. I read that 59% of all adults drink these products regularly during the day whenever they feel tired. Somehow these companies have cleverly  convinced these people that sports drinks are magic potions that will take away an uncomfortable feeling of being tired. I am amazed how naive people apparently are when it comes to buying food. These drinks are no more than water and lots of sugar or fast energy sources, generally the stuff you only need after more then a hour of intense exercise and even then you'll be fine with normal food. I do a lot of sport every week and I don't use any sport drink.

This is a typical example of clever marketing and a naive attitude towards big food companies. I understand, I am likely still buying stuff I don't need myself, but I have a healthy paranoia. To remind me of this healthy paranoia I have created Dew, a skull made out of 4 fridge magnets. It is made out of two rabbit skulls, sport drink bottle lids and plastic. Consuming all these unnatural food sources creates a contrast with your natural body, pushes it out of balance, creates diabetes. Dew is similar; I added unnatural elements to a natural base.

Collateral Rubbish

Finished a new sculpture this week and it is a sheep skull! I finally got around using a plastic mosaic on a skull, which is something I wanted to do for a long time. I am very pleased with the result and it made me more convinced that this way of decorating a skull is a great way, visually but also as a message!

The story behind it:

In this sculpture I used the bright colours of our money driven modern nature to create a contrast that forms a spotlight for Mother Nature. We are now spoiling our environment and its resources because we lost the gift to value things ourselves. We need companies and herds of people to tell us what is nice and what isn’t, which result in a price tag. Our lack of criticism is creating waste along this conveyor belt of billboard progress. I went out by myself to create something positive out of ignored resources and created this out of the herd individual.

Location: The fridge

Yes, some may already have seen them on my Facebook fanpage, but here they are; Dr. Freakinstyle fridge magnets. Food is very influenced by marketing and by a lack of knowledge of us the consumers. Where do we store all our purchased food? In the fridge. So, my fridge magnets are there to remind people to think about what to buy and what those food companies are actually trying to say. I am still busy getting the style completely consistent with this theme, but some are already quite strong I believe. Better to see them in real life to be honest.

These magnets are just the beginning, I have another two big things coming up as a result of some brainstorming I did the last couple of weeks.