Laura Mathews is the artist behind the puppet sparrow that Jodie saw at Equinox festival and what sparked our interest in puppets as festival performers. Working more in sculpture than puppetry, each creature is handcrafted out of wood and finished off with leather. It is clear that Mathews has studied animal anatomy in great depth including skeleton and muscle structure, which makes her sculptures incredibly convincing. Mathews is also a walkabout festival performer herself, her most recent work a costume having bat wings with individual fingers to get the full wingspan.
The sparrow again is made of wood and leather and what seems to be plastic individual feathers for the wings. The leather is strong and durable but will also give it the flexibility that it needs in order to have the fluid movement of the wings. It doesnt have detailed facial features and I like this, as I think that adds a certain curiousness about them. The wood is lazer cut, as it is a cheap way to get the repeated precision you need for building sculptures like this. Mathews has the anatomical understanding of animals and therefore when painted all of her sculptures are hyper realistic and instantly believable. Because of the handcrafted skill that has so clearly gone into them the audience cant not be intrigued and impressed. The sparrow is the first puppet Mathews has made and personally I think these sculptures work better when they have the freedom of movement. The sculptures, while still lifelike and can be posed, are still static. The sparrow is also real life sized which makes it more believable.
Click here for sparrow movement video
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| Badger |
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| Pegasus |
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| It is interesting to see how drawing plays a part in her work. It is a mechanical drawing but not accurate, however they are essential in figuring out the technicalities of the sculptures before they are cut. Are they works of art in themselves? |
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