Inspired by a recent museum visit (TMAG) (see images below) I decided to create a ‘curated’ still life by posing natural objects in a museum type set up. I set up a still life based on cuttlefish found years ago at Venus Bay. It turns out that cuttlefish are quite fragile, as I found out when the board on which I had hung them flipped in the wind. Two new cuttlefish and lots of string later I had a novel still life. I dropped the idea of a label as this would create too obvious a link to the museum context.
This is the start of a series of natural forms bound, constrained or assembled in a non natural way. I plan continue the series using drift wood, sea urchins, elk horns and large lotus seed heads, amongst other objects.
Below are photos of the 3 versions of the still life, plus the painted result.
