My forays into taxidermy began when I found myself
living without a television. One day
last Spring whilst cycling down from the Moor I startled a cat who had just
killed a baby bunny. He dropped it and I claimed it and then skinned it (why
should he have all the fun?). Over the last year I have salvaged, and extracted
the skin and bones of many animals and I love it!
I enjoy the process that takes me from the
familiar, to the maggots and rotting phase, and then to the sweet smelling,
pine bark-tanned, and hydrogen peroxide-cleaned stage. Recently, I realised
that I am not alone. Taxidermy has become trendy and it would appear that many
of us scour the countryside for carcasses; axe and carrier bag at the ready. My
favourite artist/taxidermist is Jazmine
Miles-Long. We could be drawn to this
hobby for many reasons: it may be a desire to re-enact Inanna's death and
descent into the underworld, and later reunification with the heavens when
Spring returns to earth. Or, perhaps we are La Loba, the She-Wolf who collects
the bones of our forgotten, wildish instincts
in order to breathe life into them; creating art out of the parts of our soul that we left for dead.
In my case, I just wanted to make a very warm hat!
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| My fox hat (Photo by Will Stubbs) |
