On October 12th I joined thirty other collectors of the obscure and intriguing and showed a collection of objects again at the Artworkers Guild . This time a selection of relics, votives and a shrine dedicated to Dandy comic’s Desperate Dan. The title was ‘Do objects have power by association?’ The answer for me is: definitely. Desperate Dan was part of my childhood.
He appeared in the Dandy comic and was initially drawn by artist Dudley D. Watkins who also drew Lord Snooty and his pals in the Beano. I was a very late reader, but avidly followed the action in comics. Dudley was a prolific cartoonist, and died at his drawing desk holding a pen in 1969. He went to Art College in Nottingham, which is where I grew up, although born in Devon. The 2D chin samples are taken from a 1950s Dandy annual, the 3D samples are re-imaginings of cloning attempts. Would Desperate Dan’s Aunt Aggie have approved? Probably not.
Other objects on my table included a pink heart made by my daughter when she was a child, a plastic doll’s arm found in the middle of a deserted path when I was walking in the Alpujarras, and hair from a judge’s wig – more about that on another post.