Weird Hybrid Taxidermy Animal Art
I don’t know about you, but taxidermy kind of freaks me out. Who likes seeing a dead animal being stuffed and set up for display in any venue, whether it be as a trophy, or as an art piece?
During Miami Art last week, I discovered the fascinating sculptures of Enrique Gomez de Molina. His taxidermy sculptures are sickly yet hauntingly beautiful at the same time. Molina uses the parts of once-living animals and meshes them together to create these otherworldly creatures. These are creatures that you would imagine seeing in the realms of Harry Potter, Narnia, or World of Warcraft. His work is somewhat like Dexter meets Dr. Frankenstein. By using these different animal body parts, Molina hopes to bring awareness to the danger faced by a multitude of species. Genetic engineering and human intervention accounts for the conceptualization of many of these surreal pieces.
Enrique de Molina puts into question the possibilities of artificial evolution that the future holds. He says, “The impossibility of my sculpture brings me both joy and sadness at the same time. The joy comes from seeing and experiencing the Fantasy of the work but that is coupled with the sadness of the fact that we are destroying all of these beautiful things.” With the actions that we continue to keep up with today, who is to say that his sculptures won’t soon become reality? It is fascinating to see the taxidermy hybrid sculpture species that he has come up with. He has used animals such as part spotted skunk, fan tail pigeon, rooster, and ostrich or skunk, lamb, and deer hooves. These combinations have led to some interesting and quirky hybrids. Some of them even look highly believable; could this be what the future has in store for us?
Unfortunately, De Molina was arrested on charges for illegally importing parts from endangered species. He plead guilty for importing parts from whole cobras, pangolins, hornbills, and the skulls of babirusa and orangutans from areas all over the world including Bali, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Canada, and China. De Molina did not obtain the proper permits to import the parts, and the feds said that he knew what he was doing was illegal. If you are interested in viewing these hybrid sculptures, check out the Bernice Steinbaum Gallery in Miami, Florida. There, you can see his sculptures as a collective and you can examine these sick puppies up close and personal.
