The Little Artists

John Cake and Darren Neave aka The Little Artists make small reproductions of famous pieces of modern art...

'Hirst's Shark Tank'

'Dali's lobster phone (Black Suit)'

'Chapmans' Dead Guys'

'Boing, Boing! It's the Little Artists (Enebriated Emin Enraged)'

"Cake and Neave's work has been an exploration of the iconic, a trawling through recent art history in an attempt at understanding the significance of art and the culture that creates it. Playful and irreverent but created with a genuine respect, their work while accessible in it's use of material and subject matter explores the more complex issues of process, identity, authorship, branding and art's relationship to consumerism and product. Their early work under the banner of The Little Artists was an attempt to make clear the status of artist as brand and artwork as merchandise. Their use of an existing diverse range of artistic symbols and materials (Lego, Scalextric track, Smurfs, Pictionary or even Tesco's toilet rolls), is not an attempt to create something new, devoid of original meaning but to actively incorporate already defined narratives as tools in their artistic process. A key line of enquiry for them is how much the exhibition can exist beyond the confines of the gallery space. A merchandise range, colour-coded uniforms, an interactive web-site or Christmas card mail-out all stem from the same fundamental ideas as their gallery work. Their most recent move has seen the duo identify with the strategies of Martin Kippenberger, using his formidable mythology as a reflective surface to re frame the creative process and its position in contemporary culture."

I took inspiration from The Little Artists when thinking about reproducing The Last Supper because I like how the work is playful, while at the same time carrying an intelligent message.I also like their choice of unconventional materials which I think make their work more interesting and witty but equally humble and simple.