Dive into the world of German artist Florian Schäfer, a leading force behind Forgotten Creatures. Supported by the folklorist Janin Pisarek, Florian spends hours researching descriptions of supernatural beings - on the internet as well as in dusty archives and crammed libraries. In his myth studio, realistic replicas of ghosts and beasts are created.
We are happy that in his fairy-tale sculptures, polymer clay is often used, especially for faces, skin and hands.
“The sculptures are painted with acrylics. Hair, clothing and other accessories are mostly made from natural products,” says Florian who pays attention to every detail and collaborates with photographer Hannah Gritsch to capture his art staged at historical locations.
The belief in nature spirits, in goblins and fairies shaped people's lives for many centuries. Many orally transmitted folk tales were written down in the course of history - which is also documented by the well-known collections of the Brothers Grimm.
Fantastic novels, films and series are on everyone's lips and inspire millions of people every day. Despite the continued popularity of such media, knowledge of the cultural origin of these traditional motifs is waning in the general consciousness and Florian believes it’s time to revive the fascination with the almost forgotten legendary figures.
With his team they currently focus on nearly forgotten spirits of German folklore. “With the project Forgotten Creatures we set ourselves the task of bringing the beings of “lower mythology” to life today,” says Florian. This is done in an innovative way. Florian creates sculptures in elaborate manual work, the appearance of which corresponds to the descriptions from historical writings. Then they combine art with cultural history and thus create a modern level of experiencing our own cultural past.
In August 2020 a book "Hausgeister!" (Household spirits) was published featuring both in-depth information on cultural backgrounds and many photographs on nearly 200 pages. “It is currently translated into english and will be available in Autumn 2022 by the publisher from Canada,” says Florian and we are amazed by the work he and his team has done. Congratulations!
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