Taxidermy Tangle
2025
30" x 22"
Ink, charcoal, crayon, and graphite on paper
concept and citations
For this class assignment, we were tasked with creating a composition that depicted our field trip experience to the Natural History Museum in LA. The museum displays dozens of taxidermied animals, a fact which I was unaware of until I overheard a guide. From this discovery, I researched the process of taxidermy, which involves removing an animal's skin and stretching it over a sculpted body, something I found familiar to a stuffed animal. Combining this idea with the phenomenon of memory consisting of fragmented moments, I decided to create a quilt of hybrid animals. Quilts often serve as a form of storytelling, which relates to the goal of this assignment, while also providing a strong compositional base. I have not drawn many animals prior, but I am satisfied with how they maintain realism while also appearing cohesive with the rest of my style.
process
This project began with colored pencil sketches I drew during a class field trip at the LA Natural History Museum. I focused on capturing the character of each taxidermied animal.
Based on my sketches and photos from the museum, and I designed hybrid animals, then arranged them in an intertwined composition.
After painting the geometric quilt background with ink, I drew the animal components on separate pieces. of paper like puzzle pieces. Alongside ink and gouache, I incorporated graphite, charcoal, and crayon on the animal pieces to add a variety of textures, a technique inspired by Dan Gartman. Since none of the animals were drawn on a singular paper, I had to estimate their sizes.