The Stalking & Murdering of a Childhood Giraffe

GIRAFFE FOUND! February 9, 2006 (after THREE YEARS of searching) # of Photos of Colleen posing unhappily w/ “Reject Giraffes” = 1,712

Stage 2 is now being worked on which is the “praising” portion.

You can see all of the past “Giraffes of the Month” HERE.

An Explanation of the Project:

I’ve confused the hell out of a lot of people lately, jumping up and down each time I run across a giraffe in a store window, throwing a camera into their hands, and then pretending to be serious as I pose dramatically with a stuffed animal.

I think it’s about time I finally explained.

After always working one art project to the next without any real continuity between pieces, by sheer luck I started to get some exhibits. A wonderful artist in London, Alison Raimes, found my work online, liked it, and invited me to be in a group show, not knowing I was only 22 at the time. Hot damn was she surprised when I showed up, but we wound up getting along swimmingly. After that my resume grew without much work on my part, getting invited into shows in five different countries, and averaging one show every two months.

I got to a point that I realized all my old work was crap, amateur stuff. Experimental, but completely yawn-inducing in subject. Things I wouldn’t particularly be drawn to at all if I hadn’t been the one to create it. I realized that I had to grow up as an artist, and attempt to make a project with a solo NY show in mind.

I’ve been working on my first long-term project, The Stalking and Murdering of a Childhood Giraffe, for almost a year now, though technically I haven’t even created a single piece of art.

What started it:
November 2003, looking for something that would make an interesting still-life to paint, I thought of a stuffed giraffe I had growing up. It was a beanie baby rip off, with a neck that contained almost no stuffing, but would flop over and create odd forms. I took the train to my parents house and raided the attic.

It wasn’t there.

I went back five more trips, tearing apart boxes, turning over garbage bags of discarded stuffed toys. I became obsessed with finding that giraffe, and when I realized it couldn’t be found, I became obsessed with figuring out where it went.

(Today’s word of the day is “obsession” can you say that kids? Obsession-aaaaaahhhhH!)

What I realized:
I realized I was going insane over a stuffed animal. I started to find it funny that I was so obsessed, and decided to take that obsession to an obscenely absurd level…and then destroy it completely.

The “Stalking” Portion:
Basically, what I’ve been doing is searching frantically for another stuffed giraffe that resembles the missing one, and documenting every other giraffe I come across in the hunt. I wanted to be in all of the pictures so when they were displayed on a wall (My goal is 2,000 or so, though I guess I’ll have to stop whenever I find the twin to the missing one.) it would get to a point that they were almost creepy. To add to the creepiness, I decided not to smile in any of the pictures…anyone who knows me knows it is almost impossible for me to keep a straight face.

The “Stalking” Portion ended on February 9, 2006 with 1,712 reject giraffes before finally finding the TRUE giraffe. 58 people wound up joining the project as “Giraffe Hunters” (many of whom I had never met prior to this project, but who found Fluff or my journal page and became obsessed as well)

During the “Stalking” Portion every 15th of the month I would post my top three giraffes captured and listed all the new hunters that month. You can see all of the past GIRAFFES OF THE MONTH here.

The “Praising” Portion:
After I find the giraffe I stalked for all those years (I’m assuming it might take me years…It’s already been a year and two months) I’m going to do a series of art projects of it, a HUGE black and white photo, large painting, perhaps a sculpture, and a cross-stitched image of it…you can’t get more obsessive then cross-stitching.

The “Murdering” Portion:
The main point of the project is in the Murdering section, which will also be the most fun to do. Again, it will be a series of art pieces in the same mediums as above but this time it will be of these stages

1. Giraffe frozen in a block of solid ice
2. Giraffe’s stuffing removed
3. Giraffe on fire
4. Giraffe exploded

I can’t wait to create a cross-stich pattern for an exploded giraffe.

The Final Show:
The final show will have a wall of the “stalking” photographs, as well as sections devoted to each of the five stages, from praising to explosion, and a small clear box containing the dusty remains of the giraffe I had once been obsessed with.

Strangely enough, though I haven’t even passed paths with anything slightly similar, I have no real doubts that I will find it eventually, be it two days from now, or twenty years.

These giraffes were found in toy stores, cabs, office storage rooms, convenience stores, card stores, supermarkets, on the ground…(larger versions and more giraffes can be found on the Art page)

If have any questions about the project (especially if you are a gallery/agent interested in representing the finished project), please contact colleen[a]fluffinbrooklyn.com.