Little Charm Boy
2024
Painted fiberglass, gold foil and steel
94.7 x 72.7 x 120 cm

This sculpture is based on a 19th century snuff bottle featuring a boy holding a gourd vase. It builds upon the whimsical expression of the original and explores a recurring theme in Gary’s body of work — sentimentality for inanimate objects, or the value we attach to possessions.

The snuff bottle vase has been replaced with an array of assorted, outdated technology and ambiguous shapes, while the central character, the boy, has been transformed into a guardian-like figure protecting his purposeless hoard.