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A full-size Audrey II "Mean Green Mother" puppet head leaf and growing plant coffee can label from Frank Oz's Little Shop of Horrors with an Audrey II Funko Pop! autographed by Audrey II puppet creator Lyle Conway. Audrey II, a manipulative talking plant, quickly grew out of the coffee can Seymour Krelborn (Rick Moranis) stored her in by feeding on blood - first Seymour's, and eventually others'.

This lot originates from the personal collection of Conway, a long-time collaborator of Oz's across several previous Jim Henson productions and, as head of the film's creature effects shop, the creator of Audrey II's ornate design. For his work on the film, Conway received an Academy Award® nomination for Best Visual Effects alongside Bran Ferren and Martin Gutteridge.

Conway's team constructed six sizes of puppet - each with a different production nickname referencing its scale - to reflect the flesh-eating plant's growth, with a combination of humans and animatronics used to make her move and speak.

This lot consists of one large vacuum-formed plastic leaf created for and used on the second-largest of the puppets, nicknamed "Suppertime," as well as for the head of the largest puppet, aka "Mean Green Mother." The leaf features a metal "spine" on its underside for structure, all of which is hand-painted green with purple splotches and textured with leafy veins to appear organic.

Also included is a back-up wraparound coffee can label hand-made by the Pinewood Studios sign department by air-brushing and hand-painting Maxwell House Coffee logos onto a silk-screened blue rubber skin. The label was designed to expand and distort as Audrey II outgrew the can, with pneumatic rams used to push the can's sides outward. For their groundbreaking work, Conway gave each member of the sign department a bottle of Dom Perignon.

Further, the lot includes an unopened Audrey II Funko Pop! Numbered "654," signed on its window in green ink by Conway and placed inside a clear plastic case. The leaf exhibits some fractures and discolouration along its edges, while the label exhibits stickiness and minor warping from age. Dimensions: (largest) 58.5 cm x 33 cm x 7.75 cm (23" x 13" x 3")

Estimate: £1,500 - 3,000 Ω

View all lots from LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (1986)