6.4.12

Bestiary (3) Anna-Wili Highfield's Faux Taxidermy

















All photographies by Anna-Wili Highfield.
1 Horse mask for Hermès, 2011, 100 x 110 x 100 cm. Cotton paper, ink, cotton thread, silk, copper pipe internals with hard hat.
2 Seahorse 2011,
35cm x 15cm x 7cm. Ink, watercolour, archival cotton paper, copper rod, timber block.
3 Dancing horse,
2010,1.8 x 1.8m x 55cm. Copper pipe, masking tape, copper wire.
4 Pegasus for Hermès,2011& Pegasus bust for Hermès, 2011.
5 Robin 2010, 13cmx 14cm x 7cm. Ink, water colour, archival cotton paper, cotton thread, brass rod, timber block.
6 Australian magpie 2010, 32cm x 40cm x 17cm. 
Ink, shellac, archival cotton paper, cotton thread, brass rod, timber block.



One for sorrow,
Two for joy,
Three for a girl,
Four for a boy,
Five for silver,
Six for gold,
Seven for a secret,
Never to be told,
Eight for a wish,
Nine for a kiss
Ten for a bird
You must not miss.


"One for Sorrow" is a traditional children's nursery rhyme about magpies. According to an old superstition, the number of magpies one sees determines if one will have bad luck or not. 


Anna-Wili Highfield is an Australian artist based in Sydney. She sculpts faux taxidermy and fake animal trophies in paper and copper wire. She was commissioned by Hermès for the opening of a new store  in  Brisbane. She created pieces  for  Anthropologie, New-York as well. 
"I like natural materials. I like materials that have a resistance to them. I like them to dictate the form and the next step to an extent. I am very much a process based artist. I would very seldom do a drawing first, because I think that my best ideas come within the process of making something.
I don’t cover my way. All the materials are there to see.  I think that there is more mystery when you can see how something was made rather than a sleek hidden job."
To know more about Anna-Wili Highfield's work, here is an interview from The Design Files.









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