Polly Morgan: Dead Clever Stuff…
Polly Morgan's remarkable, unique taxidermy pieces are making quite an impact on the British art scene…
The somewhat disconcerting tableaux Polly Morgan creates using dead animals and birds, offers those who view it a snapshot of death, a way to experience beauty, or a recurring glimpse of life, depending on how you approach it.
Incredibly skilled, with an instinctive and powerful ability to capture a moment, Morgan wouldn’t necessarily call herself a taxidermist…
“What taxidermists are trying to do is to recreate a wildlife image in 3D, a classic pose, something you'd see in the countryside. I am more interested in the moment between something dying and decaying – anything between a few hours and a week. There's something beautiful about that. The wings aren't used for flying, the eyes aren't used for seeing, the beak isn't used for pecking… it just becomes an ornament. When it's taken out of context, people can see that it's beautiful. They can appreciate it for what it is.”
Once described as “Britain’s hottest bird-stuffer” (a compliment, whichever way you look at it!), Morgan takes the discipline into a new realm – not only in her style but in the way she creates unnerving relationships by placing the animals in provocative poses and contexts.
The animals are acquired from accommodating vets or her Cotswolds-based mother, who scavenges gamely for roadkill; or friends with aviaries (she usually works with birds as they are easier to source). It should be noted, of course, that all the animals used have either died accidentally or come naturally to the end of their lives.
The gruesome intricacies of the taxidermy itself has never concerned her. In a recent interview with The Telegraph , she describes the process with a rather dispassionate professionalism: “You lie the pigeon on its back. You make the incision down the breast: there's not a lot of blood, because the heart's not pumping. You have to disconnect the bones at the shoulder and the hip, and then you peel the whole thing inside out like a jacket, scrape it out and remove all the fat pockets at the base of the feathers: it's really time-consuming and boring, but you have to do that, otherwise the skin will rot and the feathers will fall out.”
What might churn the stomachs of a less robust visionary, Morgan has turned into some of the most stunningly original art works around. As you might expect, her work has a timelessness, a morbidly beautiful longevity that picks at the very seam of mortality.
Make every effort to see Morgan’s groundbreaking pieces – works that force a kind of fearful, wide-eyed awe. It’s arresting, dead clever stuff, to be sure.
And if you want to catch her work immediately, Murdock is exhibiting limited edition prints which are for sale for a short period. These do make quite a special Christmas gift for the right person.
Framed each piece (editions of 18) are priced framed £450, unframed £320.
To view the work up-close, please visit the Shoreditch store on 340 Old St London.
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