Maison & Objet 2009: Frédérique Morrel, the needlepoint hunter?

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A person could go blind perusing the fall Maison & Objet design show here in Paris, with booth after booth peddling the latest in high-end home accessories. But the eye-popping insanity of French designer Frédérique Morrel’s life-size needlepoint-covered trophy-head sculptures was impossible to miss.

Made from polyurethane taxidermy molds, covered in vintage needlework and finished with real antlers, each piece is unique and made by hand. Morrel came up with the idea to work with vintage needlework after her grandmother died and her grandmother’s needlework was unceremoniously tossed out. Once you get over the initial shock and kitsch of these pieces, you realize upon closer examination that each tells a story thanks to the idealized scenes of life -- animals, nudes, hunters, flowers and more -- pieced together by the artist.

Morrel’s work also includes a life-size deer sculpture, a series of life-size human sculptures covered in needlepoint that she calls Ghosts, plus poufs, cushions, footstools, lamps, trays and other accessories for the home. Check out her website for a behind-the-scenes look at how she does it.

-- Kristin Hohenadel