TAXIDERMY REVISITED

Taxidermists Extraordinaire Jaap Sinke & Ferry van Tongeren aka Darwin, Sinke van Tongeren, return to Jamb for their second spectacular show, the guests once more of Charlotte and Will Fisher at Jamb.
 
Here curator extraordinaire Helen Chislett reviews this showstopper.

Two years ago their first ever exhibition here dazzled visitors with artfully crafted, taxidermic compositions that paid homage to the great Dutch masters of the 16th and 17th centuries. This June, ‘New Masters’ takes further inspiration from early natural history artists, such as the American John James Audubon and his German counterpart, Ernst Haeckel. The latter they particularly admire for the way in which he approached scientific studies with a creative eye, combining colour and pattern to make elaborate patterns with flowers, shells and animals.
 
In all, Sinke and van Tongeren plan to bring about 30 new works to the ‘New Masters’ show, including a female mandrill, some rare hornbills, monkeys, reptiles, a zebra, two red ibises and an antique cabinet of rare, exotic birds, all dramatically resurrected to take centre stage amongst Jamb’s superbly curated stock of antiques and collectables.
 
In addition, they will be showing some of their ‘Unknown Poses’ taxidermic photography, which was recently shown at Photo London. This series is a continuation of work begun in 2014, when they realised how the ‘empty’ skins they were washing seemed to come alive when floating in water.
 
Damien Hirst’s ‘Murderme’ collection bought nearly their entire output two years’ ago, so for anyone interested in owning a piece from the new masters themselves, the Jamb show is a second chance to procure a piece by DS&vT. Prices range from about £3000 to about £75,000, with the majority costing in the region of £10,000. So far as Sinke and van Tongeren are concerned, the two years they have spent putting this new show together is all about celebrating the beauty and wonder of the natural world. As Jaap Sinke explains,
 
“We have managed to find some really rare and interesting species from zoos and breeders around the world – each animal is selected on colour and drama, a reflection on what we have learned so far”.
 
Visitors to this show will find Jamb’s 18th-century console tables housing Jaap and Ferry’s beautiful compositions of creatures such as draped swans, macaws and ibises – animals caught in time to be enjoyed and marvelled at beyond their natural deaths.
 
www.finetaxidermy.com
‘New Masters’ runs from Tues 28. June to Friday 8. July,
9am – 6pm weekdays and 11am – 4pm on Saturdays.
Jamb, 97 Pimlico Road. London SW1W 8PH

Tweet

---