Captivating Taxidermy: Harriet Horton's Camouflage
The delicate craft of taxidermy has captivated a new wave of artists, its use of dark surrealist humour inspiring a modern and playful take on what was once a humble curiosity. For her upcoming show at mi* galerie in Paris, opening in October 2016, and entitled Camouflage, Harriet Horton has introduced hand coloured marble dust and cement to the medium. Experimenting with reconstituted marble, Horton uses this classic element in a new way, giving it colour and combining it with the industrial and Brutalist nature of cement.
In the new works being created for the show, Horton explores a new relationship with neon using organic structures, with irregular twists and bends, to create something on a larger scale and different from her previous work.
After Nyne spoke to Harriet Horton to gain an insight into her craft.
JR: Can you give After Nyne a brief look into your history as an artist, and how this has, in turn, affected your craft?
HH: I studied Philosophy in Manchester in 2008. It wasn’t a typical arts background, but having a good understanding of aesthetics has played out well for me now as an artist. I moved to London after my degree and it’s here where I began working with taxidermy and neon lighting. Even though I had loved taxidermy since I was young, I found traditional works bizarre and grim. I wanted to give a fresh take on it so I completed a two day course with George Jamieson to learn the basics.
After two years trying to master the practice, I began introducing different mediums, and it was applying yellow neon to a canary when I found my signature style. Neon lighting has the amazing ability to change the mood of something and with taxidermy it brings peace, Surrealism and drama.
I was creating various different pieces with these mediums and introduced natural stone bases. In March 2015 my work was noticed by a London gallery and signed me, which helped my confidence as an artist. In November 2015 I put on my first solo show held at The Crypt Gallery. I wanted to help push the Surrealism element of my work further by creating a multi-sensory experience within a darkened space and so collaborated with producer, Rob Shields, who scored a dream-like soundtrack.
Off the back of that show a gallery in Paris signed me and offered the opportunity for another solo show, which I’m collaborating with Shields again for. I’m taking a different take on light, sound and taxidermy.
JR: Can you talk through your work for Camouflage, what were the pieces trying to achieve and what inspired the work?
HH: When I began different avenues with contemporary work I was trying to ascertain how to step away from the old and the first thing I looked at was colour. When you alter the colour of an animal it no longer stands as a natural history specimen. Removing an animal from its natural habitat immediately makes the camouflage redundant, especially when deceased. I’ve always found it intriguing to see what changes when this happens and decided to create a body of work around the concept to see. It’s not just limited to their skins, it’s also extended to their hand-made reconstituted marble bases using natural pigments to intensify or soften colours.
My previous show, Sleep Subjects, was held in a dark environment where most of the pieces were silhouetted. I’ve made a conscious effort to concentrate on both the neon and animal for Camouflage. The neon pieces I’ve created this time around are thick 17mm tubes giving a stronger relationship between the light and animal.
JR: How do you see your work developing in the next few years, is there a particular direction your craft is going to take?
HH: I think I would like to take some time to create some site-specific installations. It would be interesting to focus around one, maybe two specimens and build around them. In fact I do have plans for one, very trippy, installation, but I that’s on pause until the Paris show is underway.
Harriet will be holding a Private View of the new work at her studio, Darnley Road Studios 29 September 2016.
mi* galerie, 27 October – 16 January 2016
23 Rue Chapon, 75003 Paris, France
