John
04-15-2009, 02:06 PM
Porcelain chavs
An artist has transformed antique porcelain figures into teenage chavs eating fast food and carrying out 'happy slappings'.
By adding mobile phones and hoodies, Barnaby Barford turned the traditional figures, bought for a few pounds from junk shops, into chav models selling for as much as £8,000.
One piece, entitled 'Do it again, I didn't press record', shows kids 'happy slapping' a victim while his cherub-faced accomplice films it on a mobile phone.
Other scenes include 'hoodies' causing havoc in a park, a family scoffing buckets of KFC, a hooded boy spraying graffiti and a boy eating a McDonald's burger.
Mr Barford said his collection, called The Good, The Bad, The Belle, reflects how the youth of today are perceived by the older generation.
The 31-year-old, who lives in London with his wife Valeria, 31, added there had been a mixed reaction to his unusual figurines.
He said: "It's been interesting to see different people's reactions to the models. Some people think they're horrific and others think they're funny.
"But in general there's been a great response - people enjoy the humour.
"I think people are shocked because the models catch them off guard - they're seeing these usually traditional, pretty porcelain models in a totally new context."
Mr Barford's collection is currently on display at the Spring Projects gallery in London.
An artist has transformed antique porcelain figures into teenage chavs eating fast food and carrying out 'happy slappings'.
By adding mobile phones and hoodies, Barnaby Barford turned the traditional figures, bought for a few pounds from junk shops, into chav models selling for as much as £8,000.
One piece, entitled 'Do it again, I didn't press record', shows kids 'happy slapping' a victim while his cherub-faced accomplice films it on a mobile phone.
Other scenes include 'hoodies' causing havoc in a park, a family scoffing buckets of KFC, a hooded boy spraying graffiti and a boy eating a McDonald's burger.
Mr Barford said his collection, called The Good, The Bad, The Belle, reflects how the youth of today are perceived by the older generation.
The 31-year-old, who lives in London with his wife Valeria, 31, added there had been a mixed reaction to his unusual figurines.
He said: "It's been interesting to see different people's reactions to the models. Some people think they're horrific and others think they're funny.
"But in general there's been a great response - people enjoy the humour.
"I think people are shocked because the models catch them off guard - they're seeing these usually traditional, pretty porcelain models in a totally new context."
Mr Barford's collection is currently on display at the Spring Projects gallery in London.