In a whimsical twist on ancient artwork, a terracotta army of sculptures re-imagines cartoon characters as stoic heroes. San Francisco-based artist Lizabeth Eva Rossof designed the army and hired an authentic terracotta-warrior replicator to manufacture the figures. Rossof’s sculptures are comprised of the same materials as the iconic army guarding the tomb of China’s first emperor in Xi’an.
This authenticity lends an historic aura to the sculptures — with the exception of the heads poking out of the armor. General Mickey stands at attention with an eager grin. Emperor Shrek, wearing dragon-embellished robes, extends his hand in a royal gesture.
Rossof’s artwork tends to explore themes of political, economic and personal liberation, and her terracotta army is no exception. On her website, Rossof explains the “Xi’an-American warriors” are intended to play off both the pervasiveness of American media around the world and China’s penchant for duplicating copyrighted material.
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