Hilda

In her early 20s, Hilda became unusually obsessed with going to gigs by a local group, Uncle Herrman’s Beerfest Band. It was music that was atypical of her generation, but she found the culturally inappropriate humour and chaotic music both cathartic and uplifting. Just about everything about the band was wrong, but she still followed them obsessively, and she would often get invited on stage to join in with the corny audience participation. Eventually, Uncle Herrman recognised that Hilda was turning up every night and playing a valuable role – her infectious good nature and visible enjoyment of the music never failed to have a significant boost to the audience reaction… and the morale of the band. So, she quietly became an official band member, and over the night she would progress from enthusiastic punter dressed in quasi-authentic costume (“planted” in the audience) to the role of 2nd accordion player, on the old accordion that had had all its reeds removed in case of mistakes. She also sings and plays cowbell and tambourine with unparalleled vigour. Her greatest contribution though is as a theremin player, an instrument that does spooky sounds, during the band’s not particularly traditional Bavarian Horror Music set.

Hilda is also an articulated ceramic wall puppet and he is modelled by hand in stoneware clay, twice fired, decorated with ceramic glazes, and finished with a cold glaze. She is approximately 32 cm long, and can hang on the wall by nail, hook or tack.