Furborough Frogs

Ann-Marie Tully, Furbourough Frogs, (installation view on the Wolf in Sheep's Clothing 

exhibition), 2013. Two ceramic, cobalt oxide frog sculptures, mirrors, faux fur, antique ball and

 claw kist..

Ann-Marie Tully, Furbourough Frogs, (installation view on the Wolf in Sheep's Clothing 

exhibition), 2013. Two ceramic, cobalt oxide frog sculptures, mirrors, faux fur, antique ball and

 claw kist..

Ann-Marie Tully, Furbourough: Lord of the plains and domestic goddesses, 2013. Ceramic, cobalt

oxide, mirror, faux fur. (H) 120mm x (W) 130mm x (D) 100mm.

Ann-Marie Tully, Furbourough: Lord of the plains and domestic goddesses, 

2013. Ceramic, cobalt oxide, mirror, faux fur. (H) 120mm x (W) 130mm

 x (D) 100mm.

Ann-Marie Tully, Furbourough: Lord of the plains and domestic goddesses, 

2013. Ceramic, cobalt oxide, mirror, faux fur. (H) 120mm x (W) 130mm

 x (D) 100mm.

Ann-Marie Tully, Furbourough: Lord of the plains and domestic goddesses, 

2013. Ceramic, cobalt oxide, mirror, faux fur. (H) 120mm x (W) 130mm

 x (D) 100mm.

Ann-Marie Tully, Furbourough: Lord of the plains and domestic goddesses, 2013. Ceramic, cobalt

oxide, mirror, faux fur. (H) 120mm x (W) 130mm x (D) 100mm.

Ann-Marie Tully, Furbourough: Lord of the plains and domestic goddesses, 2013. Ceramic, cobalt

oxide, mirror, faux fur. (H) 120mm x (W) 130mm x (D) 100mm.

Ann-Marie Tully, Furbourough: Lord of the plains and domestic goddesses, (detail) 2013. 

Ceramic, cobalt oxide, mirror, faux fur. (H) 120mm x (W) 130mm x (D) 100mm.

Ann-Marie Tully, Furbourough: Lord of the plains and domestic goddesses, 2013. Ceramic, cobalt

oxide, mirror, faux fur. (H) 120mm x (W) 130mm x (D) 100mm.

Ann-Marie Tully, Furbourough: Lord of the plains and domestic goddesses, 

2013. Ceramic, cobalt oxide, mirror, faux fur. (H) 120mm x (W) 130mm

 x (D) 100mm.

Ann-Marie Tully, Furbourough: Mrs Siddons and the infanta of the hunt, 2013. Ceramic, cobalt 

oxide, mirror, faux fur. (H) 120mm x (W) 130mm x (D) 100mm.

Ann-Marie Tully, Furbourough: Mrs Siddons and the infanta of the hunt, 2013. Ceramic, cobalt 

oxide, mirror, faux fur. (H) 120mm x (W) 130mm x (D) 100mm.

Ann-Marie Tully, Furbourough: Mrs Siddons and the infanta of the hunt, 2013. Ceramic, cobalt 

oxide, mirror, faux fur. (H) 120mm x (W) 130mm x (D) 100mm.

Ann-Marie Tully, Furbourough: Mrs Siddons and the infanta of the hunt (detail), 2013. Ceramic, 

cobalt oxide, mirror, faux fur. (H) 120mm x (W) 130mm x (D) 100mm.

Ann-Marie Tully, Furbourough: Mrs Siddons and the infanta of the hunt (detail), 2013. Ceramic, 

cobalt oxide, mirror, faux fur. (H) 120mm x (W) 130mm x (D) 100mm.

Ann-Marie Tully, Furbourough: Mrs Siddons and the infanta of the hunt, 2013. Ceramic, cobalt 

oxide, mirror, faux fur. (H) 120mm x (W) 130mm x (D) 100mm.

Ann-Marie Tully, Furbourough: Mrs Siddons and the infanta of the hunt, 2013. Ceramic, cobalt 

oxide, mirror, faux fur. (H) 120mm x (W) 130mm x (D) 100mm.

Ann-Marie Tully, Furbourough: Mrs Siddons and the infanta of the hunt, 

2013. Ceramic, cobalt oxide, mirror, faux fur. (H) 120mm x (W) 130mm

 x (D) 100mm.

Ann-Marie Tully, Furbourough: Mrs Siddons and the infanta of the hunt, 

2013. Ceramic, cobalt oxide, mirror, faux fur. (H) 120mm x (W) 130mm

 x (D) 100mm.

Ann-Marie Tully, Furbourough: Mrs Siddons and the infanta of the hunt (detail), 2013. Ceramic, 

cobalt oxide, mirror, faux fur. (H) 120mm x (W) 130mm x (D) 100mm.

The Furborough Frog series (2013) of cobalt oxide-painted ceramic frog sculptures contemplate the decorative translation of animal beings in human visual culture. The choice of frogs as an ‘animal-ground’ to paint onto, is informed by human indifference and repulsion towards reptilian creatures; as well as the association of frogs with catastrophic biblical plagues, and sorcery. The frog sculpture that the works are based on is a decorative object created by my father, and is striking in its ‘benevolent’ anthropomorphic characteristics; considering the generally malign perception of frogs. The domestication of the animal is also a phenomenon associated with ornamental and illustrative representations of animals; serving to obfuscate the real creature. The slip-cast seams are not removed from the ceramic frogs, thereby interrupting a ‘smooth’ transition from the animal-in-the-world into the realm of human consumption. 

The decorative cobalt paintings on the frog-surfaces reference the Willow, Oriental and Delft ceramic traditions, that frequently employ animal and nature motifs. Following on from the Las Meninas Frogs series, which referenced DiegoVelázquez’s Las Meninas (1656) figures and Pablo Picasso’s association of the infanta and her maids with paintings he produced of pigeons; these works depict two of Picasso's renderings of Velázquez’s infanta and her dog (which Picasso altered into the form of his dachshund, Lumpito). On the rear of the frogs, scenes from Thomas Gainsborough's oeuvre - Mrs Siddons (1785) and Mr and Mrs Andrews (1750) - are rendered to accentuate and parody the themes of human ownership of animal bodies and natural spaces that undergird these iconic images. These land-owning Gainsborough characters point to the fluid transfer of human narrative onto the animal vehicle. The Picasso/Velázquez figure of the infanta is in intertextual conversation with the earlier Las Meninas Frogs series which enacted the seamless imposition of human biography onto animal receptors: Velázquez's maids into Picasso’s pigeon-maids, and now into my frog-maids; a cultural process that enables the subjugation and assimilation of difference.

The material reference to decorative ceramic traditions (domesticated animal objects and scenes), points to the ubiquitous and quotidian presence of anthropocentrism.