Bedtime Boy 1

Laura Ford’s Bedtime Boy 1 is a life-size bronze figure in which a human form appears to have the head of an elephant. The work has the power to unsettle or enchant, depending on how it is viewed. Ford studied at Bath Academy of Art and Chelsea School of Art. Her work is influenced by her childhood growing up in a family connected with fairgrounds. She also spent long periods of time on her grandmother’s farm, a former zoo which contained a wide variety of animals. Ford created a menagerie of animal sculptures as a student and has continued to create work based on anthropomorphised and hybrid animals and children. She has acknowledged the influence of Surrealism on her work, and cites filmmakers including Jean Cocteau and David Lynch as key influences. Bedtime Boy 1 now adds to the growing collection of contemporary art at the Atkinson Art Gallery.