AGNUS DEI

DESCRIPTION

This beautifully crafted wearable sculpture/bag is crafted out of faux shearling and white hand-boarded Madras vegetable tanned goatskin. The bag features a pair of detachable, padded antlers, wooly ears, and an ear tag that form the features of a lamb with a satirical grin.

The bag is adorned with a pair of hand-polished, mirror-finished 316L stainless steel ‘hands’ in the form of a Morningstar - a signature emblem of the iCONS+ series, and a spring keyring with a removable gallon-size barbecue sauce jug, adding a sinister twist to this seemingly whimsical piece.

The bag is secured with a smooth Raccagni silver-tone zipper and comes with a pocket with an invisible magnetic closure at the front. The interior of the bag is fully lined in electric blue recycled cotton twill and has a small goatskin patch pocket. The artisan mark “E” and year of production mark “A” are stamped on the back of the right zipper stopper.

This versatile bag can be worn as a crossbody or shoulder bag with a single shoulder strap, or as a backpack with double shoulder straps. Alternatively, it can also be displayed as a stunning art object, showcasing the intricate details and imaginative design that make this piece truly exceptional.

MORE DETAILS

H20 x W14 x D10 cm (8” x 5.5” x 4”)
Exterior: 100% Lamb fur with microfibre backing ( 75% Polyester 25% Polyamide)
Trims: Hand-boarded Madras goatskin
Interior: One goatskin patch pocket
100% Recycled cotton twill lining
Removable charm
Front flap pocket with magnetic closure
Two adjustable shoulder straps
Hand-polished mirror finished 316L stainless steel hardware
Required 45 hours for one artisan to make
Cross-body, shoulder bag and backpack
Can also be displayed as an art object
Individually handmade in China
Reference No. CX23U0104004

STORY

Created in May 2022 during my coronavirus self-quarantine, this leather sculpture/ bag entitled Agnus Dei is part of my limited series on the recurring theme of astrology, featuring a disturbing pairing of an isolated wooly tagged lamb and a gallon-size barbecue sauce jug held in its hoof. The work explores my love for French Decorative Arts and my Catholic faith as points of reference to reinterpret the conventional subject matter and to communicate my conflicting point of view towards religions.

Agnus Dei is massively inspired by the fantastical beast sculptures of François-Xavier and Claude Lalanne, or Les Lalanne as they came to know collectively, particularly their most celebrated ‘Mouton de Laine, Un Troupeau de 24 Moutons’, or a flock of 24 sheep, a series of surreal sculptures that double as ottomans. These comprise eight standing sheep and sixteen grazing sheep originally created for the Salon de la Jeune Peinture in Paris in 1965. Les Lalanne’s novel approach to these beguiling and irresistibly tactile functional sculptures blurred the line between fine and decorative art, and challenged boundaries separating art from furniture, providing us with new paradigms to reframe this dichotomy. Les Lalanne’s whimsical flock of sheep or any other fantastical beasts sculptures they conceived are intended to be functional. Their objets d’art are to be lived with; we admire them, but also touch them, sit or lie on them, or eat with them. Both François-Xavier and Claude Lalanne believed that art should be part of the everyday, an idea that has a profound influence on how I approach my work and how I intend my creations to be perceived - as functional leather art sculptures that unequivocally resonate with the modern audience today through imagination and humor.

I spent the early part of my life in Canada. Most of my twenties was spent studying, working, and on occasion, looking for purpose and privilege, and meaning in life. Most of that time, I, like many people who call themselves “Christian,” wanted those three things to miraculously intersect with my faith in some way or another. But I had a conundrum on my hands: I didn’t believe I was participating in an accurate representation of Jesus’ religion. I simply did not think the Protestant Christians I was hanging around with, and so familiar with, were doing Church the authentic way - the way Jesus intended. That, to me, meant doing Church in (almost) exactly the way Paul’s earliest churches did: meeting in a house, meeting more than just on Sundays and Wednesdays, treating each other as family, sharing everything, and generally just being the good little disciples that God wants us to be. So, prior to moving back to Taiwan in 2008, I decided to move into Riverview Study Center, a Center of the Prelature of Opus Dei in Montreal, Canada to understand more about Catholic theology before my conversion.

Attending Catechism lessons was a must at the Center before I could receive my baptism, before I could receive and eat of the holy body of Christ and drink of the blood of Christ (represented by the bread and wine), which is known as the Holy Communion, a sacrament that commemorates the Last Supper. I was taught, Jesus, a perfect, divine, blemish free human, the Lamb of God, has sacrificed Himself by voluntarily dying on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. The first mention of sacrifices/offering is found in the first book of the Bible, Genesis. In chapter 22, God tested Abraham’s faith by instructing him to offer his beloved son Isaac as a sacrifice. Verses 1-2 read: "God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he replied, “Here I am”. God said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” I had such profound admiration for Abraham. Sitting in the pew in the Center's chapel, half awake and half asleep, I couldn't fathom why a perfectly sane human would so adamantly want to sacrifice their own child. And why would God require animal sacrifices or ask His people to offer their children as burnt offerings just to test their devotion and commitment? Without diving into the biblical symbolism of the sacrificial lamb or the Christian doctrine of substitutionary atonement, let's just say that the story does have a happy ending for Abraham's part but not so much for the lamb, which was used to replace Isaac as the burnt sacrifice.

I incorporated the biblical story from the book of Genesis as another point of reference for Agnus Dei to explore the fundamental and perpetual tensions between life and death and to raise ancient philosophical questions in a boldly contemporary way- how do religions interpret the body, mortality, violence, pain and divine power? And, what would people do in the name of their God(s)?

The lamb, which carries both religious and prosaic significance, seems to be the ideal choice of animal to elicit emotions. At first glance, it may recall the fantastical Mouton de Laine, Un Troupeau de 24 Moutons created by François-Xavier Lalanne in 1965. A closer inspection reveals a barbaric and disturbingly anthropomorphic universe: a tagged lamb holding a gallon-size barbecue sauce jug in its right hoof with a satirical grin. In this comical but sinister juxtaposition, the steak sauce jar foreshadows the tragic and gruesome fate of the lone animal. All it requires is a real menace to light a match.

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