The Tax Man – An Unbuilt Machine

In 1984 Paul Spooner designed an elaborate machine which was to have been on display in a shopping centre in York. (This was four years before the Ride of Life). The machine, called the Tax Inspector, was to be ‘an automatic window display to cheer up the passers-by’. It was to have six scenes dealing with a day in the life of the Taxman, and the finale, as the machine opened up was a dream sequence.

You can download copies of Paul’s original drawings and ideas for these scenes here:

The Tax Man: An Unbuilt Machine – £1.40
11 page PDF Download (5.2MB)

‘Sad Frog’ by Keith Newstead

Keith Newstead has started making wonderful automata from the flotsam which arrives regularly at his local beach in Cornwall. The contents of containers lost at sea sometimes contain large amounts of the same, often colourful cargo, (lighters or legos).

This piece is called ‘Sad Frog’ and is a one-off design.

Height 24cm

£295

SOLD

Heart in Hand

The perfect gift for Valentines, a one-off piece from Carlos Zapata.

This a very stunning but gentle piece with a fantastic action as the hand opens and closes.

43 cm. high (17 Inches)

Price: £700.00 (excl. VAT)

First Edition – The Laird of the Mummy Wrappings

The Fourteen Ball Toy Company are producing this early Anubis piece from 1982, which Paul Spooner made while CMT was still in Cornwall. This is a rare opportunity to add a low numbered piece to your collection.

Our friend, the Egyptian God Anubis, is suitably attired in a beautifully painted tartan kilt.

The text reads,

‘Since his heyday in ancient Egypt, Anubis seldom has a chance to show off his shapely calves. He takes the opportunity in this Highland manifestation, but his pleasure is impaired by his young relatives’ lack of aptitude as a sheepdog.

145 mm x 118mm x 240 mm
Excluding handle – which makes 145mm into 200mm

Price: £465.00

Click here to buy from our shop

Fi Henshall

We are delighted to offer some pieces from a new artist, Fi Henshall, a sculpture graduate from Falmouth College of Arts in Cornwall.

Fi was inspired by childhood visits to CMT in Covent Garden, and more recently by automata/machine maker Rob Higgs, whose attitude to making things convinced her that anything is possible. So she started to make automata, and was particularly attracted to it by the fact that, once made, they can be brought to life by anybody at the turn of a handle.

Fi enthuses about these new pieces, and says ‘The apparently idiosyncratic ways in which things can be made to move fascinates me. I enjoy the improbability of it all- even when I know something works, I find it hard to believe that the haphazard collection of cams and levers before me will really make something come to life. I work with a combination of materials as this stops me becoming too precious with any one of them, and ensures that I am always learning something new and discovering new things.’

Buy work from Fi Henshall in our online shop now:

Petits Fours £950

Liquorice Drops £295

Jack Daniels 1 £450

Keith Newstead’s ‘Song for a Dead Moon’

A Steampunk version of a 19th century automata. The dead moon appears to be made of graffiti covered concrete. This is the first time that Keith has used a music box mechanism.

Height 39 cm
Width 18 cm
£1,750

To view a video of the piece or purchase it please visit our online store.

New Sharmanka Catalogue

Sharmanka Kinetic Theatre have republished their catalogue. There are 64 pages, with colour photographs throughout of the fantastic work of Eduard Berdsudsky. It includes an introduction by actor, Simon Callow, and text on The Art of Eduard Berdsudsky by Julian Spalding. The latest exhibition ‘Gothic Kinetic’ is also featured, as well as history on Sharmanka’s move from Russia to Scotland, and behind the scenes details from director Tatyana Jakovskaya.

£12 Buy it here.

Spooner Valentine’s Heart

Valentine’s day brings a new Paul Spooner edition of 13 hearts titled  “Be Still My Blinking Heart”.

Turn the handle and the heart blinks in anticipation.

Paul remarks: ‘It is an opportunity to donate an organ to a loved one. The blink mechanism is a spin-off development of owl technology and to get the oak for the base I had to saw up our bed.”
size: Width 4.5cm Height 8.5cm Depth 4.5cm

Price 97.50+VAT.

Buy it here.

Collector’s Piece

A one off piece from Carlos Zapata.

The ‘Collector’ is admiring his latest acquistion the little figure does sit-ups in the palm of the collector’s hand. This piece from 2005 has recently been on exhibition in North America, and is now available to buy.

Height: 56 cm
Price: £895.00

This is available to buy from our Online Store.

Nude with Concertina

We have a couple of new works from Paul Spooner as he warms up for his Virtual Exhibiton later this year.

The first is ‘Nude with Concertina’ (pictured), an ingenious mechanism moves the skeleton’s arms, and a delicate origami-paper concertina is played. There are two of these. To buy or for more information click here.

We also have a one-off piece, ‘Exercising One’s Demons’. Spooner plays with words and tricycles in this one – lovely. Click here for more information or to buy.