Jacky Winter is pleased to present Mascots – a collaborative exhibition by Andrea Innocent and Cat Rabbit.

Cat Rabbit, known for her plush characters who inspire good feelings, and Andrea Innocent, known for her character design and emotive illustrations – have come together to create a series of ‘Everyday Anxieties Mascots’.

Each mascot supports a particular feeling, mood or anxiety produced by modern living and the human condition. The characters act as a sort of talisman to the anxious and the introverted – to those who find the world overwhelming and confusing at times. Let’s face it, that’s most of us.

With its first iteration launching at Craft Victoria in 2018, this new extended exhibition presents an imaginary expo of mascots in the form of installation, illustration, sculpture, and found objects. Old friends like the telephant and shy lion will be there to ease your technophobia and agoraphobia, and some new friends will join in to walk with us through the dark tunnels of cognitive dissonance and solastalgia. There is no judgement here, just lots of cuddles, hand holding and waving. They’re all on your side.

Andrea Innocent is an illustrator and character designer residing in the Dandenong Ranges. Innocent works with both traditional and
digital media to create emotive characters and illustrations to inspire dialogue about the tragedy and humour of everyday life. Her images explore ideas and stories as various as Japanese folklore, woman’s rights, children saving the world as well as the power and awe of the natural world and the animals who reside in it.

Cat Rabbit is a Melbourne based textile artist and designer, specialising in felt soft sculpture and embroidery. Rabbit makes plush sculptural works of her imagined characters and the worlds that they might live in. Her scenes, also created from felt and found textiles, place her figures firmly within their own reality. The intention is to generate a certain feeling of warmth and comfort, not only achieved through the use of soft, fluffy materials but through the creation of kindly and relatable characters. Rabbit has exhibited widely throughout Australia and internationally, and her work has also been applied to various illustration and editorial projects.

Cat Rabbit also works collaboratively with Isobel Knowles under the name Soft Stories to create books for children; Owl Know How (Thames & Hudson, 2012) and Too Much for Turtle (Thames & Hudson, 2015) as well as other fantastical artworks and installations.