BOXING DAY WITH A DIFFERENCE – SEASONAL SNAPSHOT 19

One of the chief contenders for 'best dressed' window on Broughton Street is Concrete Wardrobe's at No. 50a, writes John Ross Maclean. 

Charlotte Duffy, aka Waste of Paint Productions, has created a timeless world of ordinary and extraordinary objects and figures, and a gorgeous bestiary fashioned with astonishing skill from recycled cardboard.

Here, craft and art coalesce, and in the most endearing way. 

The exhibition has been described as 'magical', with an element of the 'surreal'. This is true. Here are embarkation points for old folk and fairy tales, a sense of Gemütlichkeit, and a thrilling feeling that all the subjects – even the the pages of the book on taxidermy – are only momentarily stilled and will at any moment spring into life. It comes as no surprise to learn of Duffy's long-standing interest and involvement in puppetry.

Born in Auchtermuchty, and a St Andrews University Philosophy graduate, she is a self-trained artist influenced by Duchamp. Her self-styled ethos – ‘the worth has to be in the story of the objects, not in the materials they are made of' – adheres to the Bread and Puppet ‘Why Cheap Art?’ manifesto.

She is currently working on a large-scale public commission. 

I look forward to following this bright star, and in the meantime recommend the company of the beguilingly lugubrious French bulldog, the satisfyingly odd 'odd cat', and ‘is-it-a-smirk-or-a-smile?’ on the face of the ineffable narwhal.