If you view just one pygmy seahorse image-heavy post today (and you were planning to, right?), I recommend this one.
These incredible creatures live in the western central Pacific Ocean (known as the Coral Triangle region of southeast Asia) and rarely grow larger than 2 centimeters. They look like adorable toddler bath toys and blend perfectly in their Dayglow surroundings. Aren’t they fantastic?
I wish I could have one as a pet. I’d give it plenty of coral to…hover on.
I’ve decided I’ve really enjoyed including artist statements in posts. I am by no means a trained art critic…just a voracious observer…and at times the artist’s own words really enhance the experience of viewing the work. I’m going to try to include more direct quotes.
Now let’s have a look at Lauren Marx’s creations.
In her own words:
Cosmology, biology and anatomy have always been intriguing to me. My attraction to these topics have compelled me to find a way to create images that combine elements from these dissimilar fields to shape a universe that reflects my unique understanding of the cosmos.
I have developed a symbolic cosmology where animals represent nebulae, birds are the stars formed within the nebulae, and insects are the elements (or ”dust”) created from exploding stars. My hope is that this symbolic representation allows the viewer to see these phenomena as a complete picture of an interacting Universe. Using these animals and insects, I am going to make my own ”creation” myth of the Cosmos to parody current and past creation myths which are strongly reliant upon animals, to show how humans attempt to understand the epic intricacy of the Universe.
As it turns out, I’ve collected WAY more terrible taxidermy than I could feasibly post in a week. I also intentionally left out the new wave of artistic rogue taxidermists, to be visited at a later date, though this hobby is gaining ground and producing some entertaining results (this is one kind of craft I could never do; I’m too sensitive to work on…former creatures).
So here are some honest attempts at preserving and posing creatures that don’t quite…look…right.
Thanks, Bettie!
Okay, so it’s a hoax, especially with that URL, but if you’re looking for HUMAN taxidermy services…LOOK NO FURTHER!
And here we have Nina Saunders’s taxidermy furniture.
Thanks Eric!
Atlanta Home Turned Private Taxidermy Museum
Thanks Jim!
Did someone send me Sweaty Taxidermy? I’m not sure if this was a reader submission or my own bookmark!
The pollen count must be high today, because those eyes are pretty irritated.
“You were soooooo wasted, bro!”
Is he leaning on the back of a chair? I don’t know what’s going on here.
Going batty…
Awww, these poor sad saps…maybe I’d be depressed too if I were awkwardly stuffed posthumously.
This is probably the only despondent pounce effort you’ll ever see. I bet even the prey would want to comfort him.
GOOGLY EYES? Really?
These two really deserve captions…ideas?
You know how sometimes you’ll see an animal at a certain angle, at a certain moment, and it appears to be smiling? This is not that.
These are gruesome, gratuitous, godawful grins…facial contortions that do not exist in the actual animal kingdom.
Are you ready?
A couple of them are kinda sweet.
…or manic.
…or stoned.
…or the stuff nightmares are made of.
…or inquisitive.
…or surprised.
…or something dug out of an ancient Egyptian sarcophagus.
…or just happy to see ya.
…or…or…this.
…or have one more than the most fashionable number of mammalian eyes.
…or look like an ad for wolf dentures.
Now let’s have a look at some creatures who appear to be experiencing emotions or postures that do not, in reality, exist in the animal kingdom as we know it.
The whole lower half of this one is more disturbing than its nonplussed face.
Is he Jazzercizing?
Squirrel in sensual repose:
“Oh God. I must have slept wrong.”
Waiting by the principal’s office…
Tacky Taxidermy 101: when in doubt, HYPEREXTEND LIMBS!
One of the best signs I’ve ever seen:
Tacky Taxidermy won the theme week contest! So here we go!
Sometimes there is just a *little* something off about the taxidermy creatures we encounter…
But others are downright SASSY AND FIERCE!
I welcome captions for any of these!
SWS does NOT endorse the mistreatment/killing of animals for art! I make an effort to post only ethical taxidermy in which the animals were already deceased. If you somehow discover that one of these creations actively harmed the creature involved, please let me know so I can remove the image immediately.
Ceramic artist LuRu’s Retro Atomic Sci-Fi Kitchen is a truly awesome, completely handmade renovation.
Look at these incredible tiles!
Despite working with a small space, LuRu really rocked this theme. There’s even a sci-fi “stovescape!”
Yep…I’m completely in love with this tiling.
See many more pictures here.
SheWalksSoftly 