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Viktor Wynd's gallery and shop in East London is arranged with the sensibility of a 17th-century Wunderkabinett. It displays and sells an eccentric and seemingly random collection of objects - everything from shrunken heads to narwhal tusks, united only by the sense of wonder they inspire in their curator. Now, Wynd takes readers on a tour of homes, private collections and museums that share his fondness for things arcane, desiccated, antique, or just plain odd.
The book visits rarefied locations lovingly curated to by dilettantes, bohemians and artists: from David McKinley's rambling Devon farmhouse and its historic taxidermy to an Italianate villa in East London built near tower blocks; to the House of Dreams Museum and artist Marcelle Hanselaar's studio. It also includes advice on how to start a collection of your own, covering details on auction houses, private dealers, flea markets and fairs, and shows that having distinctive taste does not necessarily require a massive budget. Designed in a style that reflects its author's delightfully idiosyncratic perspective and with illustrations by the Theatre of Dolls, and photography by Oskar Proctor, this book is dedicated to collecting the wonders of the world.
Viktor Wynd, the Chancellor of the Last Tuesday Society, is a multidisciplinary artist working in the fields of installation and relational aesthetics. The creator of elaborate tableaux that can involve thousands of participants, he is known for his masked balls and dance parties during which anything, and everything, can happen. He lives in London and Norfolk.
Oskar Proctor is a London-based photographer specialising in interiors and still lifes. Theatre of Dolls, is the creative partnership of visual artists Frida Alvinzi and Raisa Veikkola. In addition to their work as illustrators, they also create and perform sculptural art installations using puppetry and visual storytelling.
