Image from the series Wunderkammer, courtesy the artist.
Although frequently relegated to an art form of strictly decorative purposes, taxidermy is finding a conceptual revitalization through the work of Kimberly Witham. Throughout the New Jersey-based artist’s many projects that utilize dead animals, you won’t find any moose heads mounted on walls or stuffed tigers in menacing positions. Instead, Witham incorporates less-taxidermied animals, like squirrels and small birds, into elegant still lifes and aesthetically harmonious sculptural creations.
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Witham has been consistently incorporating taxidermy into her work for 10 years, even going to taxidermy school for further immersion. “I became interested in using animals in my work after New Jersey from NYC in 2006. At first I was really overwhelmed by the number of dead deer I encountered. I began photographing the deer on site and then using Photoshop to place the deer into domestic environments,” Witham tells The Creators Project.
Image from the series Domestic Arrangements, courtesy the artist.
She continues, “After about a year of working exclusively with deer, I spotted a beautiful squirrel who had only been killed moments before I drove by. I picked him up and brought him back to my studio to photograph. That process led to Domestic Arrangements,[Wunderkammer](http:// http://www.kimberlywitham.com/kimberlywitham/wunderkammer.html), _and my eventual trip to taxidermy school.”One of the key points of departure from Witham’s work, when compared to more traditional practitioners of taxidermy, is the manner in which she acquires her raw material. “All the animals in my photographs were found by the side of the road. To use common parlance, roadkill,” Witham explains. “When I am driving or out for a run, I pay close attention to the roadside. It is incredibly sad how many dead creatures you can find if you pay attention.”
Image from the series Domestic Arrangements, courtesy the artist.
Because Witham only uses animals whose fate has already been sealed, reception to her work from animal rights activists has been mostly positive. “Many of the people who write me emails or approach me at openings are vegan animal rights activists who understand and appreciate what I do.”
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The artist does face negativity, often by those with an apparently hypocritical moral stance: “Ironically, many of the people who criticize me for picking up roadkill simply drive by when they see a dead animal. In my eyes, it is kinder to pick the creature up, photograph it, and bury it then it is to let it be run over enough times to become a pavement stain.”
Image from the series Wunderkammer, courtesy the artist.
Image from the series Deertown, courtesy the artist.
Image from the series Domestic Arrangements, courtesy the artist.
Image from the series On Ripeness and Rot, courtesy the artist.
Image from the series On Ripeness and Rot, courtesy the artist.
Image from an upcoming series, courtesy the artist.
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