Chris Sickels

Chris Sickels, the creative force behind Red Nose Studio, creates an eccentric and inviting miniature world with puppets, textures and light. Red Nose Studio’s illustrations appear in advertising, magazines, books, newspapers, packaging, character development and animation. His work has been featured in HOW, Print, Creativity, Communication Arts, and American Illustration. The Society of Illustrators has awarded three golds and a silver medal for both illustrative and motion work. His stop-motion animated films have screened at various festivals including Los Angeles International Short Film Festival and Montreal Stop-Motion Film Festival. He authored and illustrated The Look Book, and has illustrated the children’s books Here Comes The Garbage Barge, The Beginner’s Guide to Running Away From Home, and The Secret Subway.

There was a trend in the American Civil War and wars that preceded where civilians would perch upon a distant hillside, layout a picnic and observe the battle. Although we no longer perch ourselves on a hill too watch with fascination, we still do watch from afar via our screens. I grew up with the views of night vision crosshairs from above as buildings disappeared in explosive flashes, with no evidence of lives being destroyed.

As I created this piece I reflected on how theatrical war can be framed from a distance. My Queen of Diamonds reigns over the battlefield as she births soldiers, mapping their movements while seemingly unaffected by their perishing. This un-affection seems all too common.

The Queen of Diamonds is an archival C-Print of objects created with polymer clay, wire, foam, fabric and brass. The set consists of a painted backdrop, mud, and generic plastic soldiers.

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