a non-profit gallery for the visual and performing arts

2833-A Hathaway Rd., Richmond, VA 23225
in the Stratford Hills Shopping Center

Gallery hours beginning Saturday, January 22, 2022:
Noon to 4pm, Tuesday - Sunday
Free and Open to the Public
Purchase artwork from our online store

Honorable Mention

Boozy the Texting Bear
Mixed
$1,400.00

Artist Statement

Cautionary Tails is an ongoing exploration of the human condition told through manipulated, discarded stuffed animals, staged in compromising human situations. By infusing them with a healthy dose of dark humor to disarm the viewer, I’m able to address topics that are visually challenging, if not repulsive, when presented as photographic documentation of real life events. The stuffed animals are also universal symbols for youth and innocence, which makes the messages even more poignant. The scenarios I recreate are drawn from media headlines or my own personal experiences, but they all have universal relevance. These are playful attempts to make sense of and come to terms with the world we live in. Subjects addressed in this ongoing series cover a wide-range of social issues, including but not restricted to: religion, politics, substance abuse, and mental illness. These sculptures can be experienced on a purely absurdist/humorous level or explored further for deeper meaning. If you choose the latter, you may find yourself becoming a little uncomfortable for laughing. There is no correct reaction. I'm not professing solutions, just provoking awareness, and providing a memorable art experience for both the seasoned and casual viewer alike. These works are either driven by a prop or animal I find at thrift stores that spark an idea, or I have a concept in mind and search for the necessary components. This series is perpetually growing in reaction to new events in my life and the ever changing social and political landscapes – there appears to be no limits to humanity's ignorance, cruelty, indifference, and suffering. This fact is disheartening, but from a purely selfish standpoint, it also provides me an embarrassing wealth of material from which to draw upon.

Website: warrenhicks.com