Black cat sourced through the Northland Regional Council trapping community
Canary sourced from a Wellington breeder
40cm x 40cm x 23cm
Previously shown at Twentysix (Newtown, Wellington) in the show SINGLE USE ONLY.
Please email me through my website for more images of this handsome man if you are interested in adding him to your collection, and for shipping information and prices.
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From the show:
When we think of SINGLE USE ONLY, what comes to mind is disposable medical supplies or items that are deemed as non-reusable. In Antoinette Ratcliffe’s new body of work, the concept of SINGLE USE ONLY is juxtaposed with the anthropomorphic connection the viewer experiences with each taxidermy installation. This connection, created through poses and the use of familiar elements, encourages the viewer to perceive the beauty of a non-reusable material. This is a new direction in Antoinette’s work as she has previously utilised taxidermy to engage the viewer into looking further into the personality of the animal and to consider them purely as an individual.
The exhibition features an installation that was originally inspired by watching her studio at Shelly Bay be demolished, and witnessing the group of pīwakawaka take flight around the fresh pile of rubble. In the gallery, a flurry of birds pay homage to the land and buildings that fostered the careers of countless creative Wellingtonians, while the pouwhenua holds what is left of the land. The grandfather clock, originally stored in the back rooms of that studio, no longer marks the hour. Instead, it has become a perch for a peacock, a bird only prized for its aesthetics. The rooster lays silent. The cat rests with its precious canary. A beetle has been captured.
All animals in this exhibition were ethically sourced; either through failed rehabilitation efforts, humanely euthanised donations, or trapping communities protecting our native wildlife. No animal was killed with the specific intention to produce this artwork.