Sibu Masters - The Runts

Artist statement: The Runts

The Runts are the first-born in a continuing series of sculpted and appropriated ornamental dogs. The dogs, typically porcelain, are an icon of a past generation's ideals of middle-class comfort and security. When I first visited South Africa as a child, I was drawn to these strangely coloured pink, white and brown alsatians that stood watch over hearths and in china cabinets. When I discussed this series with my mother, she told me that my grandfather used to sell the ornamental dogs to members of his church. I may have unwittingly closed the loop by using these dogs to explore the history, memories and imaginations that shape the coloured identity.