{"id":8736,"date":"2025-06-23T19:03:18","date_gmt":"2025-06-23T19:03:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/8736\/"},"modified":"2025-06-23T19:03:18","modified_gmt":"2025-06-23T19:03:18","slug":"in-big-bad-wolf-sculptor-kendra-haste-contends-with-conservation-and-rewilding-colossal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/8736\/","title":{"rendered":"In ‘Big Bad Wolf,’ Sculptor Kendra Haste Contends with Conservation and Rewilding \u2014 Colossal"},"content":{"rendered":"

From a simple material, Kendra Haste<\/a> brings us face-to-face with striking sculptures of wild animals. Known for her use of galvanized wire to create life-size portraits<\/a> of everything from calm elephants to alert deer to a family of boars, the British artist is fascinated by what she describes as the \u201cessence and character\u201d of each creature.<\/p>\n

The artist\u2019s solo exhibition, Big Bad Wolf at the Iron Art Casting Museum B\u00fcdelsdorf<\/a>, is Haste\u2019s first in Germany and continues her exploration of wildlife through eleven recent works that bridge the animals\u2019 world and ours. Haste says, \u201cI try to capture the living, breathing model in a static 3D form and convey its emotional essence without slipping into sentimentality or anthropomorphism.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"two<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve visited the Tower of London in the past fifteen years, you also may have seen Haste\u2019s permanent display of sculptures inspired by the Royal Menagerie, technically the city\u2019s first zoo. The building housed a collection of animals between the 1200s and 1835, many of which were gifted to kings and queens.<\/p>\n

Haste\u2019s life-size animals are installed near where they were kept and nod to real denizens, like an elephant sent by the King of France in 1255 and what was presumably a polar bear shipped from Norway around the same time. The works were initially slated for a 10-year exhibition but now permanently on view<\/a> in the much-loved historic attraction.<\/p>\n

In Big Bad Wolf, Haste\u2019s first solo museum exhibition, she delves into conservation, sustainability, and the controversial concept of rewilding<\/a>. That animals that wander through the museum, including wolves, a stag, a hind, a white-tailed eagle, lynx, and wild boars, are all native to Northern Germany.\u00a0While some are endangered, others are bouncing back, and Haste taps into a regional yet universal comprehension of our delicate relationship with nature and how our actions affect it.<\/p>\n

\"a<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is about how we see the natural world\u2014how we\u2019ve tried to shape it, and what it might mean to let it return,\u201d Haste says. \u201cWire, like cast iron, holds a tension between strength and fragility. That balance runs through every piece in this exhibition.\u201d<\/p>\n

Big Bad Wolf continues through November 2 in B\u00fcdelsdorf. See more of Haste\u2019s work on Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"life-size<\/p>\n

\"a<\/p>\n

\"a<\/p>\n

\"life-size<\/p>\n

\"a<\/p>\n

\"a<\/p>\n

\"a<\/p>\n

Do stories and artists like this matter to you?<\/strong> Become a Colossal Member<\/a> now, and support independent arts publishing.<\/p>\n