TAXIDERMY KITTENS CENTREPIECE OF EXHIBIT

A New York museum seeks to explore the strange and profound connections humans have with preserved animals through an exhibit titled “Taxidermy: Art, Science & Immortality”.

The exhibit, hosted by the Morbid Anatomy Museum in Brooklyn and running until Nov 6, includes more than 100 artfully preserved animals, many of which are antique pieces.

It includes some extinct creatures such as the passenger pigeon and a heath hen, a common bird in North America until it was hunted to extinction in 1932.

“Taxidermy has enjoyed a bit of a resurgence over the past few years, and we do see a lot of hobbyists making their own taxidermy,” curator J.D. Powe said.

The highlight of the exhibit’s anthropomorphic section, which features animals dressed up like humans and consists mostly of pieces from the Victorian era, is an elaborate wedding scene titled “The Kittens’ Wedding” created by British taxidermist Walter Potter.

The tableau created by British taxidermist Walter Potter in 1890, features about 20 kittens fully dressed in Victorian-era attire including jewellery and boutonnières.

Other works in the exhibit include dioramas of squirrels drinking tea and an adult frog spanking a child frog.

A section titled “Freaks Of Nature” showcases peculiar animals, such as taxidermy of a four-tusk walrus, a cow with two heads and a co-joined calf.

Terence Ziegler, a visitor from Brooklyn, described the exhibit as “very strange”.

“It’s not like your typical museum. There is something a little off about everything,” he said.