Whilst in London…
Whilst in London today, after I had an appointment I had time to kill before getting my train back home. I was in the Liverpool Street/Moorgate Station side of the capital when I came across a small shop Tusch & Egon that was selling a range of vinyl pieces. I was looking for American flags for my next models I’m going to be making. Instead I came across the largest Native American figure I have seen, with the name of the Sioux leader Chief Red Cloud. I don’t know if it was pure ignorance or that I wasn’t going deep enough with the current work. Are these figures of a more innocent time based on those of famous Native Americans? It’s a scary thought to think that children are/have played with then unaware of the added history loaded into these toys that are the predetermined enemy of the Westerner.
I had a chat with the shop-keeper who was kind enough to let me take some photo’s to share with you.
She liked my current work and was even familiar with other pieces that have also used these plastic figures. I learned there’s a new design of the figure that has seen the change to the bow and the removal of the gun to be replaced with a shield. It was a real surprise to see these figures and discover another layer to the figures which are loaded with more history than I thought. The scale of the figures did remind me of the full scale ones made by Yoram Wolberger and video piece I saw during my initial research stage of the work which brought both cowboy and Native American to an equal level, that of plastic as it was melted, a process that was manipulated by the artist.
This really is a rich subject that just keeps on giving.
Tim Neath - Visual Artist 