Cute or Cruel?
This collection explores the tension between human perception and nature’s inherent essence, focusing on species with unique defensive adaptations such as pufferfish, porcupines, and armadillos. These creatures employ survival mechanisms—inflating, quill projection, or curling into a ball—that are biologically vital. Yet, humans often perceive these behaviours as “cute,” a perception that obscures the fear and struggle underlying their evolutionary necessity. This dichotomy between charm and brutality lies at the heart of this series.
Through ceramic handbuilding techniques, I interpret these species by deconstructing and recomposing their defensive postures. Textures, punctures, and fragmented forms emerge, reflecting their vulnerability. The hollow and incomplete nature of the sculptures invites viewers to question the superficiality of human interpretations, which often reduce these animals to objects of fascination, domestication, or hunting.
The works are displayed on a triangular table—simultaneously resembling an altar and a dining table. This form symbolises the anthropocentric hierarchy, with humans at the apex. By situating viewers at the centre of this arrangement, the installation challenges this authority, offering an egalitarian perspective that confronts the ethical boundaries between ‘cuteness’ and ‘cruelty.’
Through this collection, I seek to transcend aesthetic conventions, encouraging audiences to reflect on humanity’s biases and acknowledge the equal right of all species to exist in harmony on Earth.