[Description and Analysis by Simon Gnagy]
Tinkebell (born Katinka Simonse in 1979) surprised the art world in 2004 with this hand bag crafted from the pelt of her own cat, Pinkeltje. The looped tail and pink cat collar adorned with a silver, heart-shaped rhinestone form the bag’s handles. The bag itself, which has a wide base and tapers toward the opening, is made from the hide of the cat’s body. Where the cat’s head has gone is left to our imagination. The use of her own cat stirs up people’s emotions. Upon realizing what the bag is made from, a viewer is faced with imagining their own dearly beloved pet being turned into a fashion accessory.
The emotional response garnered works to drill Tinkebell’s point home. She jabs at the ignorance of consumers in contemporary capitalist society who are completely alienated from the source of the items they purchase. Not a second thought is given to the lives and treatment of the birds whose feathers fill our pillows or to the range of animals whose skins are fashioned into boots, bags and belts. Paradoxically, people are outraged by Tinkebell’s work, deeming it as cruel and unethical. The key to the provocative nature of this piece which, like much of her other work, highlights a blind spot in modern society is that the tote is created from a house cat: an animal which, for many people around the world, is an unimaginable and even disturbing accessory. The meaning of Tinkebell’s work extends further with this controversy of using a domesticated creature as a fashion item. The way humans have domesticated animals for our enjoyment and entertainment is problematized.
