Sculptor Daniel Dela Cruz’s playful yet contemplative interpretations of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland shine in his latest collection, “Back At the Tea Party.”
Many are familiar with author Lewis Carroll’s novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland: a whimsical tale of a girl named Alice, who follows a white rabbit through a rabbit hole and into a strange world filled with even stranger creatures and characters. The popular story has become the primary focus of sculptor Daniel Dela Cruz’s latest collection of pieces, aptly titled Back At The Tea Party after the main event of the narrative, the Mad Hatter’s tea party.
Yet rather than focusing on the chaotic elements of Carroll’s novel, Dela Cruz has decided to take a more introspective, even delicate approach that highlights Alice’s childlike curiosity, innocence, and vulnerability through his signature use of brass, copper, and other metals.
That said, the artist still managed to maintain the story’s original whimsy and surrealism, with elegant teapots sprouting the heads of its recognizable figures; card soldiers in a variety of beautifully-designed, unique helmets; and of course, Alice herself, a young girl whose spirited and mischievous ways are captured through playful poses and expressions as she surrounds herself with an assemblage of children’s toys and trinkets.
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Preserving Childhood
In Back At The Tea Party, Dela Cruz revisits the characters Alice meets, such as the Cheshire Cat, the Queen of Hearts, and the Mad Hatter, with a focus on their roles as forces that test her innocence. The Cheshire Cat, with its knowing grin and ability to vanish into thin air, symbolizes the ambiguity of adulthood and the uncertainty that comes with growing up.
Meanwhile, The Queen of Hearts represents the harsh, arbitrary demands of authority that threaten to suppress Alice’s wonder, creativity, and autonomy. The Mad Hatter’s eccentricity, in turn, reflects the unpredictability of life’s challenges.
Dela Cruz juxtaposes these complex figures with Alice’s delicate, enduring form, celebrating her resilience in the absurdity and chaos of Wonderland. Through this, the artist has created a thoughtful visual examination of Carroll’s text, one that uses the writer’s peculiar world as a metaphor for the trials of growing up and highlights the strength it takes to maintain one’s childlike innocence and joy amid the adversities of the world.
“Back at the Tea Party” by Daniel dela Cruz will be on view at Galerie Joaquin Rockwell from November 7 – 17, 2024. The gallery is located at the R3 Level, Power Plant Mall, Rockwell Center, Makati City. For inquiries, contact Galerie Joaquin at +63 915 414 5502 or email [email protected].
