The Avenging Unicorn

The Avenging Unicorn.

My initial inspiration for the piece ‘The Avenging Unicorn’ grew from the idea of the ‘dark side of fairy tales’. I knew I wanted to experiment with the idea of something that appears to be welcoming, bright and colourful but with a dark undertone to it.

I decided upon creating a large scale wooden box, which I wanted to draw the viewer’s eyes and attention straight to it with the inside portraying a literal darker side with some sort of horror within.

I had to build the frame work of the walls I would use  

I measured out the frames of the walls so I had one large door and one smaller. 

I nail gunned the plywood to the structural frame 

I dragged the four walls to my studio (with much help from my boyfriend)

  I then had to drill together the walls I’d built to create the box like room 

TA DAH! 

Over the time my ideas developed and it was to be the case that the inside was more effective kept quite minimalist. While still undecided of what exactly I wanted to show inside the box, in the children’s toy section of a charity shop, I found a unicorn stabbing a business man with its horn. The way in which I found the toy, where and how it was displayed, for children to play with, made it perfect for my box. I love the dark humor involved in the toy so used it as a minimalist center piece.

This is what the inside of the box looked like (not a very clear photo as it was so dark)

Terrible quality but you get the idea

In addition, music was used as another form of medium placed hidden within the inside of the box. The Disney song ‘it’s a small world’ was selected with the aim of having a different effect on the viewer from the outside when compared to on the inside. From the outside the song was both cheerful and upbeat aiding in drawing attention to the box itself and drawing the onlooker in towards it, almost as if the combination of the outsides aesthetics and the music were to be casting a magical spell of excitement and interest. However, from the inside, this song takes a more sinister meaning. The lyrics it’s a small world represent this change in environment and now being inside a hot, dark and confined space. 

I then began Painting the outside of the box with large colourful swirls and flowers 

This is me... painting!  

I would try to use up one colour at a time, so I didn't waste paint

Not going to lie, this took many, many hours

 The outside of the box remained with its initial intention of being aesthetically pleasing, or at least eye catching as a piece of work.

 

Here I am again, PAINTING! 

outlining the swirls in black paint

I also decided very close to the deadline, it was ESSENTIAL I had to outline everything in black... terrible timing but totally worth it as it makes the colours stand out much more. 

Assessment day!

In front of the smaller door

Garish, bright colours where selected to make the box stand out with opinions being divided within the student population, whether the box was a beautiful creation or an eyesore, both of which meeting the aim of attracting attention and people’s eyes to the work.

In front of the larger door

Taken the box apart, it's now nailed to the walls of my living room! 

I had lots of fun with this box and some deliciously good grades to go with it!

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Alexzandria