little rituals

January 26, 2013

building paradisaic blood
by 

I know for a fact that this image will not sit well with a lot of people.
It doesn't exactly sit well with me but i find myself kind of fascinated by it.
Taxidermy is something that perplexes me, i never know where i stand.
I have only been to the Natural History Museum in London once but i remember being enchanted. 
I was just a little girl so the majesty of these preserved creatures seemed otherworldly to me, the realness of something that used to live and breathe just as i do wasn't apparent then, it was just this incredible array of animals standing before me.
It's soberingly clear now but i can still see the beauty in it, i just don't know if it's right. 
To document our natural history, i suppose we have to. 
But where does that end? 
Will they stuff and mount me when i kick the bucket? 
Would i allow them?
I don't think i would and i at least have the choice.
But.
(There's that stupid word again.)
I can't stop looking at these two rats.
The idea behind it of the absurdity of what we do to animals to perfect our species is elegantly done.
This doesn't feel grotesque or over the top, it's not out to shock for shocking sake.
Meagan Jenigen isn't bullying you with this image but merely presenting the facts.
And that's why i can't tear my eyes away. 
So, i'm going to ask you a favour.
If you look at this image and are instantly disgusted, then please steal yourself to look again, just the once and see if you can find any of what i'm rambling on about within it.
I could be completely wrong but that's art, isn't it?
Nobody has the final say on what's wrong and what's right.
It's how it makes you feel and whether you agree with it or not, disgust is a valid emotion when applied to art.
Not everything was made to be pretty and easy to digest.

I've seen a lot of remarkable art today.
My brain feels the better for it.
But i think i've made the tendonitis come back in my hands from all the time i've spent ambling through DA.
Ugh, RSI sucks!



Listening to: Stalking Horse '99 Stairs'
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