Anything But Cute And Cuddly

August 28th, 2009

We never thought the mice our cat catches for dinner would look so fresh as our newest accessories. Creating something that looks better on models than on our mantels, two separate artists, Julia deVille and Reid Peppard, bring a collection of taxidermied jewellery and objects that makes us cry, “Cruella, that’s fierce!”

Julia deVille’s collection, Disce Mori (which means “learn to die”), draws inspiration from nature by combining beautiful materials such as rubies, onyx, and silver with the flesh, fur, and bones of earthly creatures. Using only animals that have died of natural causes, Disce Mori speaks volumes about the tension between life and death and the haunting beauty that is inevitably created by that constant cycle.

While Reid Peppard’s line of taxidermied accessories doesn’t stray far from deVille’s style, she too, only uses animals that have died from natural causes: road kill found on streets of London and rodents caught by her cat, Panasonic. Peppard, who is a member of the UK Taxidermy Guild, also uses vermin terminated by exterminators or ones that can be bought from a pet food store, and adorns the creatures with Swarovski crystals, sterling silver, silk, and leather. As shocking as her pieces maybe, they’re strikingly stunning (especially the “pigeon wing head piece”), which definitely achieves Peppard’s intent of engaging, intriguing and repulsing her audience.

As morbid as it maybe to wear a dead rat around your neck, it’s really no different from wearing the hide of a skinned cattle on your soles, now is it?

Julia deVille – http://www.juliadeville.com/ Reid Peppard - http://www.rpencore.com/