Crown Me is part of a sculpture series that leans into German motifs from the artist’s childhood. In the 1970s in the village where Mark grew up, he spent his weekends exploring the nearby forest and came home in time for his Oma Bertha to serve jello on her finest china.

This piece is about a man remembering those blissful moments of his youth, the ones in which he disappeared into nature, food, and family, his only responsibility being to enjoy the sweeter parts of life. As he grew older, the birds around him left their nests, and the mask of childhood fell off his face as he was forced out of his innocence. But as a child, carefree and in touch with the world around him, there were moments when he felt like a king.

Like all our original sculptures, we sculpted Crown Me entirely in our Los Angeles studio. Nothing in our work is off the shelf or modified from something that already existed in the world. The sculpture is the result of hundreds of hours of work, from the very first steps of hand-selecting the wood to the final painting, sanding, and polishing. The piece stands 56 cm tall and is made of American walnut wood, hand-painted resin, metal, and Corian.

All elements of the sculpture are removable and will arrive disassembled. The deer mask is a separate piece of wood that affixes to the human bust. The plate balances atop the antlers with small grooves to keep it in place. The jello, vanilla sauce, and cream are one piece that is the set upon that, and finally each bird can be placed in its slot in the dessert nest. The entire sculpture rests on a Corian base that is included.