We are all really looking forward to welcoming Doubleparlour’s new batch of odd, unsettling creatures(humanoid, and i-don’t-even-know-what-noid) to Stranger Factory in a couple weeks. Doubleparlour are Ernie and Cassandra Velasco, a husband-wife team from San Francisco, and maybe from Mars.
Doubleparlour’s brand of peculiar misfits have been making waves across the art world, and every new turn they take has been startling and fascinating. They’re always full of surprises – some sweet, some sour, some gooey – which is part of the fun!
They were also gracious enough to let me lob a few questions at them, so read on for a bit more insight into their work, inspirations and process!
CP: What is Pink Eye about? What is the backstory for the new group of creatures we’ll be seeing in April?
Doubleparlour: It is about the joys of conjunctivitis of course! Well, not exactly…however, it is the theme that bonds our creatures together.
(CP: Below is an image of a work coming to our gallery! Did you think they were kidding about the conjunctivitis?)
CP: Your style has transitioned a bit in the past few years, but it somehow feels like your current work is exactly what you’ve been meaning to do. Tell us about how your work has evolved?
Doubleparlour: We are loving the whole creature/monster thing right now…it has evolved naturally from the making of odd ball type characters. Our current work is what strikes our fancy at the moment. With monsters, there are no rules! Our work will continue to evolve as we continue to explore….
CP: How do the two of you collaborate on your pieces? It seems like you both do everything!
Doubleparlour: We do collaborate to a certain extent…in general though, Ernie does most of the sculpting and Cassie does most of the painting.
(CP: below, a piece gets perfectly detailed for Pink Eye)
CP: You’ve just started to dip your hands into resin casting – can we expect more from you on that front?
Doubleparlour: You noticed. :) We just learned how! Casting is a whole other animal. It was a lot of trial and error to master the silicone mold…but definitely rewarding to pop a complete figure out in 20 minutes. We will make more in the future for limited releases.
Of course, this is just another project, we aren’t going to stop sculpting and making originals-that is where the fun is. For our Stranger Factory show, all pieces are hand sculpted originals.
CP: What are your collective influences? Is that some sort of bargaining process to decide what pieces end up being part of the Doubleparlour world?
Doubleparlour: Horror and monster movies, kaiju figures, cartoons and comic books, coffee and pastries, art and music. We have similar taste in art and slightly different taste in music…Ernie is more metal, Cassie is more bubblegum. There is no bargaining process for what ends up in our world, just lots of ideas that get tossed around and discussed before they come to life.
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Doubleparlour’s Pink Eye opens at Stranger Factory on May 3rd!
