Gina Fischli b. 1989

Rooted in her early studies of stage design, Fischli’s practice engages familiar mechanisms of sculpture and space with alternative processes of production, often using craft-related techniques and unusual materials. She transforms banal subjects - including animals, household objects, and clothing - into objects of desire. By example of Theodor Fontanes fables Fischli plays with representations of animals and their role as placeholders for human traits and experiences. This body of work grew from an earlier unrealized project of window displays inspired by dioramas at the Museum of Natural History in New York. Interrupted by the pandemic, Fischli instead found herself trapped indoors surrounded by pillows and plush surfaces within her own domestic diorama, viewable to the outside world through exterior windows and computer screens. She started to create animal sculptures that felt more human-like—constructed and fully dressed.