Rogue Taxidermy

Not long ago, I was fond of telling friends about my uniquely creative notions in the area of alternative art taxidermy. What if someone not only desired to preserve their beloved dead pet, but also wished to approach such preservation with an exceptionally artistic perspective, I thought. I imagined a pet dog, semi-realistically taxidermied, but also exhibiting the added flair of a Frankenstein-esque zig zag of coarse black stitching across the spine and its regular eyes replaced with bright red eyeballs, for example. The main thing that held me back from enacting such a spectacle of bizarre art taxidermy was the fact that I never got around to learning how to actually taxiderm anything. Still, the idea lingered in the back of my mind and I hoped to one day teach myself the basic skills of taxidermy and then get crazily creative in an oddball fusion of science and art. I thought art taxidermy was my own uniquely creative concept.

Imagine my surprised delight when a recent issue of BUST Magazine featured an article on Sarina Brewer, an artist who had not only devised a similar idea, but was actually acting upon her weird notions and creating bizarre taxidermied art pieces, ranging from 'pickled pets' to 'carcass art' to other 'cryptic curios' including mummified fetuses and animal hearts on display. The website for her enterprise, called Custom Creature, invites potentially interested viewers to enter the site or not with the warning or greeting (depending upon one's perspective), 'she calls it art... you can call it whatever you want'. This is accompanied by a few pictures of the artist and a few images of her rather macabre art taxidermy creations including several two-headed animal specimens. From fantasy creatures with multiple heads to mutant pickled piglets to devil cats complete with wings and horns, Ms. Brewer's unusual creations might not be for the conservative, but they are certainly uniquely creative and strangely fascinating for those who find themselves intrigued by odd juxtapositions and peculiarity.

I might have imagined that Sarina Brewer's taxidermy art was one-of-a-kind and indeed it is in a way, but it turns out she's far from the only artist working in the realm of alternative taxidermy. Recently, I was browsing the wares on etsy.com, one of my favorite online forums for multifaceted handmade goodies galore and out of curiosity, I decided to search for taxidermy and find out if my search yielded any interesting results. Not only did my search lead to several weirdly appealing etsy shops, it also yielded the discovery that there is apparently a whole underground community of artists working with this provocative art form, some of whom refer to the art form as 'rogue taxidermy'. In fact, some states even have their own Rogue Taxidermy Associations. Pretty nifty stuff.

One of my favorite newly discovered rogue taxidermy etsy shops is charmingly called Loved to Death and offers up darkly lovely jewelry pieces featuring wishbones, bird feet, human teeth, various taxidermied animal paws and skulls, even bat wings. Oh so sordidly appealing materials for those with a macabre or Gothic aesthetic, a slightly morbid outlook, or an otherwise twisted perspective-or perhaps just for those who appreciate a uniquely distinctive and darkly delectable piece of art. I know quite a few of the Loved to Death pieces are on my wish list.

Just in case anyone is wondering, most rogue taxidermy practitioners are pretty adamant about the fact that they consider themselves animal lovers and naturalists who are engaged in an alternate style of preservation. Animals are not hurt or killed in the interest of acquiring their various parts for use in taxidermy art; rather such pieces are procured from animals who have already died of natural causes (or sometimes those that met a premature unfortunate demise as road kill) and through other ethical sources. Part of Loved to Death's shop announcement states, "We have chosen to memorialize these animals rather than to let them go casually discarded."

Disturbing to some, endlessly fascinating to others, art taxidermy is certainly an interesting alternative artistic avenue for further investigation and exploration by interested parties. From truly unique jewelry pieces to strange memento moris and collectibles to peculiar shrines and other oddly beautiful curiosities, what will you discover?