Edward Cullen, is that you?
We’re all for creative upcycling, but RP/Encore’s macabre medley of jewelry and accessories—made out of artfully preserved rat heads, guinea pig feet, pigeon feathers, and whole mice—give us the heebie jeebies, Halloween or no Halloween. The work of British taxidermist Reid Peppard, who happens to be vegetarian, the V/ermin collection comprises hairpieces, brooches, necklaces, cufflinks, bow ties, and coin purses that put the “gross” in “gross anatomy”—even if Peppard assures us that her compassionately procured specimens are the result of traffic accidents, pest control, or natural death.
“RP/ENCORE challenges our attitudes toward fur, leather, and waste,” Peppard says. “In a world where leather is worn with out question by most, and replaced by unbiodegradable plastics by the rest, it is ironic that the image of an animal preserved using taxidermy is still enough to cause widespread outrage and fist banging.”
“RP/ENCORE challenges our attitudes toward fur, leather, and waste.”
It’s this reason that Peppard prepares, stuffs, and mounts what she dubs the “prolific, consequential vermin result of London’s excess.” “When they become sculptural headpieces, necklaces and cufflinks,” she adds, “the specimens cease to be waste and become objects to behold. RP/ENCORE makes use of the city’s leftovers.”
So what do you think? Do they shiver your timbers—or just make you shiver?
[Via Beauty Blitz]
“the specimens cease to be waste and become objects to behold.”
I get this gallery installation. The concpts cross into several threads of thought, I won’t mention here. As art, Its fascinating. As a statement about fashion..even the entire hisorty of fashion from the beginning of mankind…its fascinating.
But when the creator ignores that all organic materials….plants, animals, and even humans can be composted, or returned to the earth…taxidermy is a poor excuse. I dabbled in Taxidermy back in college. There were harsh chemicals, and non recyceable materials used in the creating of stuffed mounts. Therefore, the idea of turning all the urban “pests” and vermin of the world into fashion in the 21st century is quite a stretch.
Besides, the rats shown in the photos are not Norway rats, nor the brown Roof rats…which indeed ARE the plague carrying disease ridden pests of great cities. The ones shown in the Artist’s photos here are domesticated “fancy” rat breeds. Nothing like turning one’s own pets into fashion. What is next? Lets see if all the animal shelters will donate the millions of homeless cats, dogs, etc, to the “fashion” cause…no?
Wow. These pieces are so innately disrespectful besides shock value is so early 90′s.
[...] Los críticos señalan que gracias al trabajo de Peppard, estos animales muertos dejan de ser desperdicios, para convertirse en objetos a conservar. Y bien: ahí tienes una buena razón, en este año de crisis, para mirar amorosamente a las mascotas de tu sobrino. Fuente: Ecouterre [...]
This is wrong on so many, many levels.
There’s only one word to describe this blatently distasteful trend:
SICK!