Nhozagri’s Stuffie Babies

PUBLISHED IN ISSUE 18

Nhozagri tells me her name means “someone who can make the sun sharp” in Chinese. She speaks in special, spiritual aphorisms. For example, about one of her sculptures, a particularly circular, fuzzy orange creature, she says, “Memories are jumping rope on someone’s face.” When I first laid eyes on Nhozagri’s creations, it was love at first sight. Hers were the first pieces of art I’ve ever wanted to kiss. The 28-year-old Beijing-based artist constructs hundreds of stuffed animals by hand, each one unique, complete with their own narrative.  “An animal is born, just like making a sculpture. Most of them have a story in their eyes,” she explains, hand-painting tiny little scenes in each pair of eyes. One green and blue fuzzy bear/squid is listed as A block of sky and grass—to hold this baby means to hold a piece of time and space. Nhozagri tells us that her babies pray to be returned to their planet, and that we can help by adopting them.  -Claire Milbrath