Pigeon feathers, polystyrene, felt, glue, museum cabinet
183 x 110 x 61 cm
Exhibited
'Heart of Glass', Shoreditch Town Hall, London (2008)
'Tunnel 228',The Old Vic in association with Punchdrunk, London (2009)
'The Animal Gaze', Whitechapel, London, and Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery (2009)
Illustrated
Tunnel 228 catalogue, May 2009
Cent magazine, Autumn/Winter 2009
Title magazine, March 2010
Juxtapoz magazine, March 2010
China Modern Weekly, May 2010
The twisted form of a serpent-like creature lies enclosed in an airless glass cabinet, a diverting object for museum display. Instead of the usual taxidermist's presentation of a perfectly preserved specimen complete with beady-eyed head, this animal appears to be headless, as if it's been gagged.
This feathered hybrid defies the naturalist's attempts at categorisation; half bird, half snake, it lies somewhere between a creature of myth, an extinct beast and a corporeal representation of the angst-ridden contortions of the human subconscious. This unavoidably human reference is reinforced by the animal's sinuous, bodily curves, which suggest both movement and life. Is this creature dead, as the vitrine implies, or suspended, like some eternally hibernating beast, between two states?
