Looooooove! South African artist & designer Porky Hefer creates everything from public sculpture to furniture design… LIKE THESE AMAZING CHAIRS! His work often makes a statement about environmental issues (just ask Leonardo DiCaprio), and that giant Buttpuss – yes, you read that correctly – is no different. This piece is part of his major new collection, “Plastocene: Marine Mutants From a Disposable World”. This work will be making its debut at the NGV (National Gallery of Victoria) Triennial 2020 in Melbourne, opening on December 19th, 2020. Here are his words about this latest work:

“Our plastics are filling the oceans and heavy pollutants are changing the pH of our seas. While thousands of species die off, unable to adapt to the rapid changes in their environments, others begin to transmutate. Here, we see the earliest indications of the PLASTOCENE, a new era defined by organismal adaptation to the endless abundance of plastics and pollutants accumulating in our environment. The collection of 5 large-scale handmade environments, including Buttpuss, a 14 metre-wide octopus clad with giant hand-felted cigarette butts, are an example of the types of creatures that shall inherit the earth. Transitional forms that exemplify the fruits of the fossil-fuel consuming and the never-ending hunger for convenience and hyper-efficiency of the ANTHROPOCENE.”

Bravo! Now, how do I get myself to Australia in time to sit inside the majestic Buttpuss?