Curiositas

55cm x 38cm x 38cm

 

Description

Sewing box with two drawers

Inside lid: eye, Lacoste crocodiles

Top compartment: Three-faced doll

Top drawer:  pierced plastic spoon by Deirdre Nelson, two felted crocodiles

Bottom drawer: doll's arms, ribbons

 

Themes, Comments and Storylines

 

“The American press nicknamed me 'the Crocodile' after a bet that I made with the Captain of the French Davis Cup team. He had promised me a crocodile-skin suitcase if I won a match that was important for our team. The American public stuck to this nickname, which highlighted my tenacity on the tennis courts, never giving up my prey! So my friend Robert George drew me a crocodile which was embroidered on the blazer that I wore on the courts.” (Rene Lacoste), 

http://www.infoplease.com/spot/renelacoste.html, retrieved 30.8.2009

The three-faced doll is a weird and slightly disturbing thing, a reminder perhaps of human's multi-faced nature, and the anxieties it creates. Multi-headed creatures were much sought-after collectors' items in the cabinets of wonders and curiosities of 16th century Europe. Such creatures were examples of the infinite varieties of creation, always exceeding and defying expectations and rules, always a surprise, singular, unique. Signs, perhaps, of a random world and ever-mysterious, chaotic universe?

Find out about the pierced plastic spoon from its maker Deirdre Nelson.