cuddle is a combination durational performance and installation for one performance with a teddy bear and dead rabbit. The piece consists of a durational section of the piece, which involves the transplanting of insides and sleeping overnight with the altered teddy bear, and an installation, which includes both artefacts and video documentation of the action.
Through the use of taxidermy techniques, I wanted not only to question what that craft is attempting to achieve, but also challenge the anthropomorphization of objects and animals. Additionally, I use decaying flesh or materials which illicit a response of disgust, or are considered ‘gross’ or unclean, to explore these reactions or present a confrontation that deepens my understanding of the phenomenological and social world around me.
Performed June 5th-6th, 2014, at Brunel University in London, UK.