Political Evolutions

Imagining an evolved form

This series began in 2016, when Georgina Caulton was invited to teach and demonstrate as one of four public workshop artists at ArtWest in West Auckland. She made the political figures for the event, which also included an exhibition.

At the time, her children were interested in Pokémon. The idea of evolution prompted her to imagine a new body for each politician, inventing forms based on her own impressions of their character. David Lange became a merman defending New Zealand’s waters; Helen Clark a queen bee; John Key a crocodile; and Robert Muldoon a Warhammer-style mech with a gun snout.

Each figure combines a recognisable caricature with an unexpected body. Seen together, their forceful expressions and contrasting forms create humour and tension. The series continues, bringing new figures into this imagined political world. The original Muldoon sculpture sold; the figure shown here is a recent remake.