Austin Phillips
Rupert, 2020
Epoxy-urethane with oil paints, brass mechanics, and wool hair
Two movements
Epoxy-urethane with oil paints, brass mechanics, and wool hair
Two movements
Mr. Punch and Pumpkin, 2019
Mr. Punch is carved basswood, painted in oils, with wool hair
Pumpkin is expoxy-urethane, painted in oils
Mr. Punch is carved basswood, painted in oils, with wool hair
Pumpkin is expoxy-urethane, painted in oils
Skinny Dugan, restoration, 1958
Paper mache, oil paints, leather moving mouth, brass and steel mechanics, with human hair
Six movements
Paper mache, oil paints, leather moving mouth, brass and steel mechanics, with human hair
Six movements
Super Deluxe Figure, in-progress
Fiberglass resin, brass mechanics, oil paints
Thirteen movements including light-up nose, stick-out tongue, and crossing eyes
Fiberglass resin, brass mechanics, oil paints
Thirteen movements including light-up nose, stick-out tongue, and crossing eyes
Austin Phillips is a builder of new and restorer of antique ventriloquist figures, puppets, and puppet ephemera. His work has appeared on the Netflix Original Series The Crown, in music videos for artists such as Boogie, and many other places. His restoration work includes the original Archie Andrews figure. His work is in the collections of David Copperfield, Darcy-Lynne Farmer, Paul Zerden, and many others. He has lectured in different countries about the history of ventriloquial craft, and is one of the foremost experts in the world on the work of Len Insull. He lives in Portland, Maine with his dog Jane.
Malasaña | Hudson, NY| Cargo Collective | Portland, ME | 2021