24 June 2009

Beware Grandma's House

Sculptor and ceramicist, Michael Doolan takes on fairytales at the Jam Factory.

One of the works on display as part of a recent Jam Factory exhibition called 'Figuration' in Adelaide was 'Grandma's House' by sculptor and ceramicist Michael Doolan.

Doolan’s art reflects his particular fascination for toys, oral folk tales, and woodland animals and scenes.

This piece, also called ‘Green Story’, is a response to the story of Little Red Riding Hood and in particular, how the story was changed from a gruesome tale of warning where both grandmother and little girl are devoured by the bloodthirsty wolf, to a story where one or both are saved by the heroic woodcutter.

‘Grandma’s House’ was created in hand-modelled clay and covered with a plush green skin that gives the piece a sense of comfort and security, while the hard reality lies just below the surface.

Here the materiality of the piece reflects the alternate versions of the story where grandma’s house represents either a house of horror or a safe refuge within the danger of the forest.

Text by Penny Craswell

Jam Factory
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