Written by: Becky Little
Kimberly Witham's roadside animal (i.e., an animal that was struck by a human vehicle on the road) art is not the same as the term "specimen" traditionally made by stuffing an animal's body with fillers. Instead of killing animals and hanging their heads on the walls of his home, Withham goes to the side of the road to retrieve the remains of animals that have been killed by vehicles, take portraits or make statues of them, and then bury them. Her photographs are so chic that you may not even realize that the seemingly calm animals are actually dead. (Follow WeChat: NationalGeographicCN)
Whimsical animal art is not new. Victorian taxidermist Walter Potter created stereoscopic models of kittens and rabbits at weddings and schools, respectively, and this is highlighted in the recently published book Walter Potter's Curious Taxidermy World. He was also interested in what is now known as "rogue taxidermy," a technique that creates animals that don't exist in nature, such as the staghorn rabbit. At the Herbarium of Porter in Bramble, Sussex, England, visitors can see kittens and lambs with extra legs and heads.
One of the major differences between Victorian and contemporary taxidermy was the focus on animal welfare. Although Withham is a fan of Potter's work, she said she "wouldn't consider going to a place where you can get such a large number of dead cats." Many contemporary taxidermists want to make sure the animals they have on hand are not "dedicated to art." The same goes for Withham, who will only use samples of animal remains she finds outside, but there are many other ways to find ethical animal remains.
"None of my works have died as a result of stripping," says artist Amber Maykut, who teaches taxidermy at the Museum of Pathological Anatomy in Brooklyn. "Many of the small animals I use are farmed animals. They are dead and frozen when I buy them, and are destined to become the rations of people's pet snakes or pet lizards... So what I usually do is peel the animal's body, take it off, and then give it to my friends who have pet snakes or large animals. ”
"You can buy rabbits, quails, ducks and all kinds of animals from the butcher's leftovers," she continues. She also got 'scraps' from the fashion and apparel industries, which weren't good enough to sell to luxury brands like Burberry, such as fur collars." ”
Using otherwise useless raw materials for artistic creation is not only ethical and practical, but you can make your own. Withham also believes that there is something spiritual in it that is involved in what he does.
"I felt like I was somehow taking these animals away from the place of their unfortunate deaths — so they wouldn't be run over by vehicles over and over again, and I was trying to finally give them a decent death," she said. "So I might use photography or stripping to give them immortality, but I'll bury them in the forest afterwards." I think it's a better way for them to say goodbye to the world. ”
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