#abramopug

Recreating Rest Energy was simple enough; I hot glued the arrow to the bow, and then to Ken who was kind enough to play Ulay for this one. Then it was just a matter of finding the right angle.  Feel free to interpret the two fingers below Marina’s armpit however you like.  If I had all the money in the world, I would have sourced a permed mullet dog wig, but alas this was always a low-budget project.

Recreating Relation in Time was far more challenging than Marina’s debut work, Artist is Present because it involved not one, but two pugs which obviously made sitting still less attractive to Nigel.  My friend, actor/comedian Fliss Russell brought her beautiful pug Leeloo over, and through trial and error we finally got the shot we wanted by each holding a treat either side of the frame.  Even this was tricky because one or the other would swivel around to check out the other one’s treat, plus there were many wrestling breaks, which I believe the human version didn’t include, to its detriment.

Although we couldn’t recreate The Onion fully, as onions are toxic to dogs, I think Abramopug captured the angst of the original.  It was a very simple photoshoot, so there aren’t many outtakes, but I love the disdainful side-eye in this one.

Apologies for censoring the human version; Tumblr classified it as ‘adult content.’  I have added a portrait of Marina reclining, genitals on full display, to compensate.

Coincidentally, the work captures the spirit of lockdown rather well.

The posthumous release of the final performance by Marina Abramopug: ‘The Life and Death of Marina Abramopug’ (2018) Human version for reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDqNpa-GU4Y

Marina Abramopug, The Onion, 2016

Marina Abramopug, The House with the Ocean View, 2016