Curios About: Alice by Larry Dunne

Alice
By Larry Dunne
Ballpoint pen, 6B pencil, and Staedtler markers on cream paper
11.7 x 16.5 inches

1. This work is about . . . the chaos of life in the face of certain death, and amalgamating some of my favourite things into one chaotic instance to form a new narrative: Alice in Wonderland, mass-produced panda toys, and the theory of memento mori.

2. I made this work because . . . honestly, it started as a small sketchbook collage from 2012 that was rediscovered and subsequently turned into a full-scale illustration in 2015.

3. I hope when people see this work they will . . . consider the joy of absurdity and chaos in the face of mortality.

4. In terms of art history, this work . . . is inspired by the illustrations of John Tenniel, the ever-popular subject of memento mori, and Liu Bolin’s disguise artwork, from which I developed the concept of the panda-laden background.

5. You can see my work . . . on my dedicated Facebook art page here.

Curios [sic] About is a series featuring works by Dublin artists, curated for us by our friends at the Square in the Circle blog, and hosted there as well as here.

Each artist is asked to submit an image of one work and answer a set of questions about it. We’d love it if you’d submit something you’ve made.