Immortal Entities
Chloe Bowman’s work examines the duality of our relationship with nature using elements of contemporary taxidermy, ikebana & kinbaku. All three series featured here - The Avian Knot, Cephalopod Glacier & Bunny Kinbaku - feature animals in a moment of suspension, captured through the lens by the artist. The need to ‘capture’ the artifice before it ages & is deemed unusable has sustained throughout history. Traditionally exotic birds are caged & clipped, hunted & stuffed, then displayed for all to see away from their natural habitats. This restriction of life to preserve its splendour pivots between harmony & horror. We are attracted & repelled, but unable to look away.
The allure of the domesticated & captive animal is that there is beauty to be found in its artificial environment, should you choose not to look too closely. Some animals are shown in an intermediate stage of taxidermy, literally hanging in the balance. Stunted in their movement they become a malleable form, which can be pushed & pulled at will. The questions raised in her work invites the viewer to think critically about the authenticity of the relationships we have with animals & indeed with each other.
The allure of the domesticated & captive animal is that there is beauty to be found in its artificial environment, should you choose not to look too closely. Some animals are shown in an intermediate stage of taxidermy, literally hanging in the balance. Stunted in their movement they become a malleable form, which can be pushed & pulled at will. The questions raised in her work invites the viewer to think critically about the authenticity of the relationships we have with animals & indeed with each other.