The Interlopers

Insects, plant roots, eggshell, mouse skin, snail shells, polymer clay
This artwork featured in House of Beasts (2011 – 2012). A Meadow Arts Commission.

Slugs, snails, caterpillars and other pests have found their way into the glasshouses at Attingham. Both captivating and unnerving, Tessa Farmer’s exquisitely crafted scenes unfold in glass domes dotted amongst the plants. Insect sized skeleton-fairies have been gathering slimy creatures in a pile but their motive is not entirely clear; are they intent on letting the pests run amock amongst the delicious young plants grown by Attingham’s attentive gardeners or is this slimy mound their prey – to be used as slaves or eaten later. A feast occurs nearby; fairies recline on cushions made from bee abdomens and feast on ladybirds and woodlice served in empty snail shells. A dragonfly descends towards the scene, ridden by hungry fairies eager to join the feast. Other fairies can be seen flying away with a stolen egg, hoisted in a net made from spindly black St Marks flies. Not content with the bounty from the glasshouse and the hens, the fairies have looked further afield, and raided the nearby 18th century bee house; they have captured a swarm of bees and stolen a precious chunk of honeycomb. What will they do next ?

Image: Tessa Farmer, The Interlopers. Insects, plant roots, eggshell, mouse skin, snail shells, polymer clay. Meadow Arts Commission 2011.

 

About the artist

Tessa Farmer

Tessa Farmer exhibited in House of Beasts, Attingham Park, 2012, commissioned by Meadow Arts.

Image: Tessa Farmer, The Interlopers. Insects, plant roots, eggshell, mouse skin, snail shells, polymer clay. Image courtesy the artist.