Humpty Dumpty

Elisabet Ney Museum
Avenue G, between 44th & 45th st., Austin, TX. 
Open 24/7

For the last few years I’ve been reading many children’s stories and rhymes to my daughters. Humpty Dumpty has become one of their most favorite characters. Like so many of the characters I create, it is anthropomorphic, whimsical, and mysterious. It may also represent the human condition, fragile and easily broken.

Humpty Dumpty is always pictured as a plump egg-shaped guy, so I wondered what it would look like as a girl, with stereotypical gender attributes: a skirt, lace, red shoes, and accessories. Humpty Dumpty is about examining traditional stories and reinterpreting them. It is also about merging visual art, movement and music.

The cute plump girl version of Humpty Dumpty is intended to bring joy, amusement, and a sense of wonder. It also challenges the way we perceive gender and body image.

Original music by Yevgeniy Sharlat
Technical development Theodore Johnson
Special thanks to Dale Whistler and Jim Harbour

Commissioned by TEMPO 2016, Art in Public Place Program