Maddy Buttling

My Dogs Try On Halloween Costumes 3 #2

Oil
Panel
14.5 x 26 cm

£440

“I view the world with an interest in trying to understand how others express themselves visually in the spaces they occupy. Be this through their choices in clothing, decor, or even pets. I record these visual choices to develop portraits of people. With animals at the centre of most things considered kitsch, I’m intrigued by the idea of questioning the intellectual credibility of artworks featuring animals. My most recent series explores scenes from a documentary, My Child Is A Monkey. A community of women in the USA, who call themselves ‘monkey moms’, controversially keep monkeys as pets, often raising them as surrogate children. Domestic scenes are shown where fear grimaces are mistaken for smiles, and a diabetic monkey is encouraged to eat her salad with dressing. I screen-captured such moments as references, and titled the paintings after quotes from each scene.”