Among the many hundreds of constructions destroyed in January’s devastating Los Angeles wildfires was The Bunny Museum in Altadena, as soon as residence to 60,000 rabbit-related objects.
Based 27 years in the past by husband-and-wife duo Steve Lubanski and Candace Frazee, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit museum held a Guinness World Document for the most important rabbit-themed assortment, which was valued at $1.7 million. Now broken, Lubanski and Frazee’s assortment included modern artwork and artifacts from antiquity.
In response to press protection of the fire-ravaged museum, British modern artist Harry Bunce, identified in the UK for his rabbit-centered work and sculptures, created a portray he plans to public sale to assist the group get again on its toes.
Harry Bunce’s “Blue for You” (2025) (picture courtesy The High quality Artwork Public sale)
“At the time of the Los Angeles fires, a video of a tearful Steve [Lubanski] popped up on my feeds, and I was taken aback as this was clearly someone who had lost everything,” Bunce informed Hyperallergic. “I painted ‘Blue for You’ over the following week.”
Bunce will promote “Blue for You” (2025), a portray of a rabbit hugging a blue toy bunny beneath a blue coronary heart, by way of the High quality Artwork Public sale, on February 16.
Inside shot of the Bunny Museum (picture courtesy Shelby Tozier)
“We are at the burn site every day looking for bunnies to save,” Frazee stated, noting that the couple recovered 210 charred bunny objects from the museum. She added that 323 rabbit objects have been donated by individuals from the US and the UK to assist construct a brand new rabbit assortment, because the couple appears to be like to reconstruct the museum on the identical location.
The Bunny Museum’s authentic assortment delved into modern bunny references each harmless and sinister — from Ok-pop artist mascots to the far-right conspiracy motion QAnon’s emblem, which features a white rabbit.
Bunce informed Hyperallergic that rabbits “crept into [his] work and would not leave.”
A placard at The Bunny Museum describes a QAnon rabbit reference. (picture courtesy Shelby Tozier)
“For me, rabbits represent the underdogs, the ones that won’t give up no matter the odds,” Bunce stated. “I have every confidence that The Bunny Museum will be rebuilt bigger and better than before.”
As of Monday, February 10, Frazee and Lubanski have raised practically $58,000 of their $1.5 million purpose on GoFundMe to jumpstart the reconstruction of the museum and assortment.
A rabbit sculpture protrudes from the ashes of The Bunny Museum (picture courtesy Candace Frazee)
Frazee stated she and Lubanski have been touched by Bunce’s profit public sale, and that his works “are novel and heart-warming.”
“We hope to see him and his art in The Bunny Museum when it is up and hoppin’,” Frazee stated.
