From Spikeworld. | Spikeworld - The blog of Spike Dennis | Artist, Maker, Curator and Colloaborator
Work made during a residency at The Natural History Museum, London in 2007.
Artist Inspiration – Tessa Farmer
I stumbled across Tessa Farmer’s work online last week. She is a London based artist who creates sculptures and installations from taxidermied animals, desiccated insect remains, dried plant roots, and other organic ephemera.
The works depict a world ruled by gangs of insect-sized skeletal fairies which use the animals and interests to survive.
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Coming of the Fairies Installed at Viktor Wynd Fine Art, London, 2011.
I love the world that Tessa has built up around these fairies creating narrative world’s around them. These aren’t saccharine sweet fairies in pretty pink ball gowns though, but mischievous and magical fairies more reminiscent of age old folklore.
The Perilous Pursuit of a Python by Tessa farmer, 2013
I particularly like the story Tessa told Vice Magazine about her work coming to life and eating itself:
I had one piece that did get eaten in the gallery. It turns out there were moth eggs hidden inside the wasps nest. The eggs hatched and the larvae ate the bird that was in the piece. They reduced it to a skeleton; it was really interesting.
Though she doesn’t appear to encourage her work to consume itself in this way she has brought some of her work to life through some short animated films;
I’m looking forward to seeing some of Tessa’s work in the flesh at the Das Unheimlich exhibition at Charlie Smith, London. The exhibition is open from the 4 September until the 3 October 2015.
You can view more of Tessa Farmer’s wonderful work on her webiste: www.tessafarmer.com
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