INTRODUCING / APE-APE

 

APE-APE is an evolving series of life-size crocheted chimpanzee skins — identical in structure yet individually freestyled — each adopting the bold colourways of childhood pop icons. Displayed in constrictive boxes, the sculptures explore mimicry, masking and the pressure to conform. Drawing on personal experiences of concealing traits in order to fit in, the work considers the ways identity is shaped, performed and adapted in response to the world around us.

 

APE-APE is influenced by graffiti, street art, interventionist practices and the designer-toy culture from which KAWS and Be@rbrick emerged. The repeated chimpanzee skin functions much like the standardised forms used in designer toys: a constant structure onto which different identities are projected. Familiar characters become skins to inhabit, raising questions about authenticity, belonging and the roles we adopt to navigate contemporary life. The series grows out of ideas first explored in Crochetdermy®. Although often recognised for its scale and accessibility, Crochetdermy® began as a conceptual challenge to assumptions about what art can be, what materials are considered valid, and who gets to decide. By using crochet — a craft often overlooked within contemporary art — I was interested in testing the systems that assign cultural value.

 

APE-APE continues that questioning from a different direction. Rather than interrogating the boundaries of art, it examines the boundaries of identity within a culture increasingly shaped by replication — digital and otherwise. Each sculpture is entirely handmade. The labour, imperfections and variations are not flaws but an essential part of the work, standing in contrast to the mass-produced imagery it references and preserving space for individuality within repetition.

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