VPL Quest: #11 Kensington Branch

1428 Cedar Cottage Mews

I quite like this branch, I used to live nearby when it first opened, and they had a huge graphic novel selection (at least at first). However even if you hate libraries and books there's still a really good reason to visit this library: the incredibly weird statues.

There's a whole courtyard of these things! The whole piece is called Peaceable Kingdom, and the bronze statues are the work of artist Tom Dean.

Now, I'm not sure if it says more about how I think, or an utter failure in the message the artist was trying to convey with these pieces, but I certainly didn't think that this exhibit was about how "serene beasts coexist in a precarious sensual paradise" (source).

I definitely didn't see these creatures as "serene"! In fact, the whole exhibit made me think of death, sickness, and conflict.

"But it could collapse in a moment into sex and violence as a demon beaver leads berserker rats into paradise, and a giant vulture waits patiently for someone to die in paradise." (source), that sounds a lot more like what I saw (well, maybe not the demon beaver...).

Apparently Dean was inspired by some passage from the bible, and The Merchant of Venice. I honestly have no idea. Here's an article with more information about the whole thing.