Sophie Butler-Manuel’s work is centered on her series ‘Fruity Females.’ This series of characters has been created as a reaction to how fruit and vegetables are used as examples of figure types for both men and women. By using real fruit and vegetables, these miniature sculptures are a comical interpretation of the figure stereotypes, and a comment on society’s obsession with the most desirable shape, size or diet.

Wit and humour pervade Sophie’s work with the fruity figures being associated with current celebrities, demonstrating the current mass media as an immediate catalyst to her oeuvre.

For the final degree exhibition, Sophie has designed a theatrical diorama, housing all her fruity figures in a momentous dolls house. This installation transforms the notions of childhood into an intriguing projection of a dream like world, where the Fruity Figures play the actors. Their cleverly constructed narratives provoke questions on household, the family unit and the media.

 

sophiebutlermanuel@msn.com