We often think of knit or crocheted objects made with yarn, cotton and wool as cozy, comforting, even grandma-esque. But the works of artist Patricia Waller will most certainly shift that paradigm.
above: Sesame Street's Ernie is drinking himself to death and Spongebob is about to electrocute himself in two pieces from Waller's most recent Broken Heroes collection.
With collections named Broken Heroes, Bad Luck, How To Kill Your First Love and Accidents, her works feature lovable icons, dolls and cute little animals in dire straits or dying a brutal death. Teddy bears, duckies, bunnies and the like are stabbed, bludgeoned and bleeding while recognizable characters like Winnie The Pooh, Miss Piggy, Bugs and Spiderman find themselves meeting an ugly demise. Hello Kitty commits Seppuku, Tweety Bird becomes Chicken Soup and Bambi gets the axe.
Simultaneously disturbing and compelling, I had to share some of her pieces with you.
Below are some pieces from her Broken Heroes and Bad Luck Collections:
Some pieces from her Happy Gardening Collection:
Some pieces from her How To Kill Your First Love Collection:
and finally, two pieces from her Accidents Collection:
Born in Chile, Patricia Waller now lives and works in Germany:
In the artist's own words:
"My ambiguous universe wrought from our turbulent modern existence is focused on art, commerce, technology, and pop culture. In a subversive tongue-in-cheek manner, I mix together the absurd and the bizarre, careful observations of everyday life and an interest in humanity, to create the different phases of my work.
Due to the technique of crocheting, traditionally a handcraft that is carried out in the intimacy of a cozy home, my artworks seem harmless at first sight.
But if you take a closer look, you will discover biting irony and a strong dose of nastiness." -- Patricia Weller
See more of her work here