Dust - Curiosities at the Pawn Shop

I had been fascinated by a local Pawn Shop that quietly sits behind dusty windows full of stories. A few weeks back I popped in to ask the owner about it because this isn't your usual pawn shop filled with gold watches and sovereign rings. It is full of history from Tibetan jewelled skulls to music box figurines, taxidermy creatures, jars filled with disorganised throw away trinkets that are absolutely my kind of treasure. The owner was really generous with his time, "nothing is for sale" he said. It's his personal collection. He does house clearances and does sell aforementioned gold watches to make a living but this is his collection and he sits on his throne in the middle of it daily. I drew some of the curiosities and am carving time out this year to dedicate to a project where I would like to create some dioramas of the shop and it's inhabitants who have so many stories to tell. They are dusty and appear as such a random displays but at the same time are perfectly connected in their forever homes. The owner says he doesn't dust them at all, he likes to know the dust upon them is the dust they collected over their lifetimes. I loved that idea. Here are a few sketches below as I embark on this project that feeds my fascination with objects and the way in which humans bring characters and stories to life to track time. I guess part of the interest is that they are all stories still half told and waiting for the rest of the journey...

He didn't know the background of many, so maybe I also loved the fact that I can add my own relationships to them and the new ones they have made themselves behind the glass. The female figure above is from a music box but has since lost her home.

The Woodpecker watches on over the philosophical monkey and Mickey Mouse style thread bare puppet. The Mouse's jacket is so frayed and thread bare it has made a new fabric all of it's own that is like Issey Miyake meets Hussein Chalayan circa 1995 in it's exquisite fragility.

Jars filled with various characters and cultures but there is no tug of war, all sit comfortably together.

More beautiful puppets, detailed with lace and fine fabrics over wood carved with love. Watch this space as I continue to explore these stories.