Kelly June Mitchell



She Thought it Would be Quite Absurd to Carry it Any Further
clay, christening dress made from repurposed fabric and a Victorian era sewing pattern
approximately 6 ft x 2 ft x 2 ft
2016
The original inspiration for this piece comes from the scene in Alice Through the Looking Glass in which Alice "rescues" a baby from the plate throwing, pepper blasting duchess. Once she has it outside, the baby morphs into a squealing, writhing pig. Disgusted and disturbed, Alice lets the pig run off into the woods. Like most scenes from the Alice books, a lot can be read into this little vignette. For me this unwieldy, heavy, ugly, and overly frilly piece speaks to an uneasiness with motherhood. Alice thought she would rescue the poor, innocent creature and care for it like a good little mother, but once it's rosy cheeks were gone and the patina of the immaculate infant was revealed as a lie, the ugliness and helplessness of childhood came through proving to much for Alice.