Taxidermy in Art

I am fascinated by taxidermy in art. These are currently my two favourite pieces. Please tell me if you know about others!


Head On is by Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang. It is on exhibition now at the Deutsche Guggenheim in Berlin. Composed of 99 life sized wolves, confectioned from painted sheepskins, they charge in a continuous stream towards, and finally crash into, a manufactured glass wall. The idea of a wolf in sheep's clothes is not lost on me, but the sheer dynamism and ambition of the piece really grabs me by the collar. More here. Or read "Tragic Beauty
A Conversation with Cai Guo-Qiang."



Untitled, 1979 by Jannis Kounellis is made from charcoal, paper, arrows and stuffed birds. In June, while visiting my friends the Ganzlebens in London, I saw this piece at the Tate Gallery. I am intrigued how a simple black line can carry story. Those industrial buildings, by their starkness, invite you to infer your own experiences. Standing in front of this piece, you want to gasp for air, you actually feel sooty, and dirty. My thoughts went to climate change, fossil fuels and the environment. This was probably not Kounellis' preoccupation in 1979, but it just goes to show how imagination in the form of great art is timeless.