FIFI COLSTON - WORLD OF WEARABLE ARTS -
RACHAEL KING'S MAGPIE HALL

What you may ask have the above things got in common.

The answer is that the multi-talented Fifi Colston came third in the Avant Garde section at the World of Wearable Art Awards in Wellington last weekend. Her piece was inspired by none other than Rachael King’s MAGPIE HALL. She was on TV One's Good Morning this morning with her outfit and she gave a huge plug to Magpie Hall.

This from Fifi’s blog:

‘When I read New Zealand author, Rachael King’s novel Magpie Hall I was inspired by her Victorian gothic elements of tattoos, taxidermied collections and a possible flayed woman. A Cabinet of Curiosities and its odd contents was something the fated Dora in the book had to contend with. Ultimately it was to be her downfall … her Memento Mori (you HAVE to read this book!)

‘I created the cabinet with the well known mirror box illusion known amongst magicians. Where is the lady’s middle? She is merely full of curiosities in jars. The botanical illustrations are from Vintage Printable, the cabinet illustrations from ‘A Century of NZ Trademarks’. Her tattoos come from all over, some from friends, others referenced from Sailor Jerry, the famous tattooist of his time who created blueprints for hundreds of flash designs. The heart tattoo in the middle of Dora’s breast belongs to a writer I know- it seemed appropriate that the story should begin with one author and end with another.