Shannon Danielle Taylor - "Night Market"

Vampires, wizards, ghostly gatherings, and a quaint town of mushroom people populate the miniature dioramas of artist Shannon Danielle Taylor. Her project room exhibition, Night Market, at Hashimoto Contemporary Los Angeles features new works that unveil the hidden realms only visible when darkness descends. Nestled inside antique cosmetic compacts, these delicate watercolor cut-outs offer a glimpse into a magical domain that awakens after dusk.

In the Night Market, a vibrant tapestry of animals, spirits, and fantastical beings unfolds. Mushrooms dance around bonfires with leaping frogs, ghosts glide through lush forests teeming with beasts, and ancient wizards weave their spells. The rich colors and intricate layering evoke the decorative qualities of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, a movement celebrated for its lavish detail and complex compositions, all of which can be seen in Taylor’s laborious works. In one mirrored compact, a meticulously rendered moon gazes into her reflection in a pond, encircled by lily pads and gladiolus flowers no larger than a fingernail’s tip; the moon no larger than a dime. 

These miniature works honor both the real and the imagined. Taylor paints each scene with watercolor on paper, then meticulously hand-cuts and assembles the dioramas. These impossibly small creations reside in vintage cosmetic cases adorned with the image of an owl—an ancient symbol of wisdom and death, luck and misfortune, magic and prophecy. In the palm of one’s hand, these tiny worlds unveil the secrets and possibilities that thrive under night cover, as well as the infinite enchantment that surrounds us, waiting to be discovered with a closer look.