PILSEN — As a kid, New York artist Pravus used to put together spaceship and monster models for hours on end.
And a little more than 15 years ago, those monsters turned into porn stars.
“I probably wouldn’t show this stuff to my mother. I don’t think she would be appreciative,” he said.
The artist — who wants to remain anonymous to protect what he says is his full-time job in the financial sphere — is showing his work publicly for the first time at Pilsen’s Ugly Step Sister Gallery.
His art is a three-step process in which Pravus first creates human miniatures in 1/24 scale. He then sets them up in erotic scenes using dollhouse and model car parts and takes photographs of the miniature scenes.
In his artist statement, he writes, “It started when I stumbled upon Adam and Eve model figure kits in 1/24 scale and wondered what it would be like to create little naked people having fun. It has developed into scenes from an entire miniature world. I liken what I do to cinema,” he said.
“Scenes from adult entertainment inspire me, but really, it’s from my perverse imagination if you will,” he said.
Pravus works with a sculptor in China to create custom heads and so if you’d like to commission a scene of yourself in a compromising position with Tom Cruise, Batman, or any other celebrity, you can email the artist at pravusart@yahoo.com.
The porn doll photos are part of a larger erotic gallery show at Ugly Stepsister (1750 S. Union St.) that runs through Oct. 6. Gallery hours are Saturday and Sunday, 12-6 p.m. or by appointment.