Curiosity Cabinet
The curiosity cabinet or wunderkammer denotes magical, mysterious mind boggling menageries of anything from natural oddities to antiquities and cultural artifacts. These small collections did much to announce the worldliness and knowledge of their owners who throughout history numbered themselves amongst kings, bishops, physicians, naturalists and nobles. Though both educational and a status symbol for their owners, curiosity cabinets also played a role as entertainment.
In this piece I wanted to explore the true allure of the curiosity cabinet, which is not the contents themselves but the stories behind each object, real or imagined. Found objects after all can take a similar role to traditional art in that a lot is left to interpretation, and the frame of reference of the individual viewer. This in itself is more telling of the viewer than the object.
The finished piece.
Thanks for Watching!
