English taxidermy artist, Polly Morgan, details the role of gender in taxidermy.
“There is a general distinction between male and female taxidermists,” Morgan observes. “Men tend to favour big, robust creatures. These are less interesting to me; I’m drawn to the delicate and fragile.” As a consequence, perhaps, there is a quiet, haunting quality to her work, which has captured the attention of serious collectors including Charles Saatchi, and amateur enthusiasts, among them Kate Moss and Courtney Love, alike. Should you fancy a piece of Morgan for yourself, ordinarily, this will set you back between £8,000 and £30,000 a pop. If you’re lucky.
Her transformation from art student-to-barmaid-to-high-end taxidermist is a story unlike any other.
“...One summer’s day six years ago, she mentioned to an artist friend across the bar that she’d like a piece of taxidermy to furnish her flat. The friend suggested that she try to make one herself. And so, after some research, Morgan tracked down a taxidermist working on the outskirts of Edinburgh, by the name of George Jamieson, who offered lessons: “For £150, I’d get a day’s tutorial and get to keep the bird at the end of it; it was even cheaper than buying one,” she says. The next evening, Morgan took the train to Edinburgh straight from work, staying the night with a friend in town and leaving for class at 7.30am. At 5.30pm, she left Jamieson’s house, stuffed pigeon under arm, and hasn’t looked back.
Polly Morgan lives in East London.
