Polly Morgan

Polly Morgan is another artist who works with taxidermy. She is one of my favourites and it was her Life After Death birds that first got my attention. My favourite pieces are the ones where she hasn't tried to make the animal look alive but instead she has left it in its death pose. I love the preservation of the moment of death almost as if you watch long enough you might see a tiny breath.

Her newest work explores the idea of the psychopomp; a mythological winged escort which carries the soul from the land of the living to afterworld. Because birds have the ability to fly they have often been associated with heaven. In many Eastern European cultures, a person's death is described as when his/her soul bird has flown away.

Interesting story about  the chick in the matchbox....It was owned by Courtenay Love. Unfortunately the movers chucked the $8000 work of art in the trash not recognizing it as art....oops. You can read a pretty hysterical note about that little mishap here.