My interpretation of Pinocchio inspired by an old Italian saying ‘Le bugie hanno le gambe corte’ (Lies have short legs). This expression means that lies are difficult to maintain and will eventually be exposed, so lies can’t travel far.

Dimensions: 19 cm high
Material: pine wood

Pinocchio is the protagonist of the children’s novel, ‘The Adventures of Pinocchio’ written in 1883 by Italian writer Carlo Collodi.

The structure of the story of Pinocchio mimics that of the folktales of peasants, emigrants who venture out into the world but are naïvely unprepared for what they find and get into ridiculous situations.

At the time of the writing of the book, this was a serious problem, arising partly from the industrialization of Italy, which led to a growing need for reliable labour in the cities.

The problem was exacerbated by similar demands for labour in the industrialization of other countries. One major effect was the emigration of much of the Italian peasantry to cities and foreign countries such as Australia and United States.