The intricate carvings of Montreal artist Maskull Lasserre have a chilling, transformative quality – morphing everyday objects like pianos, tools, furnishings and books into surreal skeletal creatures, human body parts, giant insects, bizarre hybrid weapons and more.
All Photos © Maskull Lasserre
The artist's latest collection, entitled Fable, was exhibited last month at Toronto's Centre Space gallery and is now being featured on the art & design site Colossal, where the artist explained the concept behind the carvings:
“When the remnants of life are imposed on an object... it infers a past history or a previous life that had been lived,” Lasserre said, “so again where people see my work as macabre, I often see it as hopeful, as the remnants of a life... by imparting these bodily elements to inanimate objects it reclaims or reanimates them in a virtual way.”
You can see many examples of Lasserre's work at his website, including images of the artist at work on the Fable pieces and other haunting collections.
For an interesting contrast, check out the work of artist Francesco Albano... instead of revealing organic creatures within everyday objects, he sculpts furniture and clothing that looks like it's made of human flesh.