Taxidermy and photography both exist as a state of preservation of the subject, denying organic decay in a disjointed modernity, a concept that Ben Klocek and Antoinette Ratcliffe emulate in their show Cellar Door.
Crepuscular and discarded, the specimens in their photographs take on new flesh in composition, and in their sentience.
Antoinette’s practice explores the anthropomorphic through her use of a variety of media, including her own taxidermy, where the animals find themselves in relationships created out of circumstance. This photographic series examines the chronotope allegory between taxidermy and the captured image.
Exploring the connection between the physical and the subconscious, Ben constructs situational realities between taxidermy, found spaces and objects. In his use of vibrant and sometimes conflicting colour palettes, Ben creates limbic resonance between the subject, the artist and the viewer.