Lost Specimens — HELEN M MITCHELL

The world of Lost Specimens is an in-depth reflection on the perpetual influence of humans on the earth’s flora and fauna, so deeply impacted by global warming and environmental degradation. These strange creatures of another time are a satirical comment on how the anthropogenic pressures of today could result in these hybridized species of tomorrow; animals that were, are or will exist in a parallel reality of the future that could (almost) be real.

(Please click on images below for detailed photographs and species description)

Gotham Ghoul - €3000 20cm x 6cm x 15cm tall

Peat Bog Pig - €4000 20cm x 20cm x 25cm tall

Six-Eyed Miniature Kudu - SOLD 15cm x 15cm x 28cm tall

Miasma Milly - €3000 11cm x 11cm x 12cm tall

Queen Elizabeth I Beetle - SOLD 18cm x 18cm x 20cm tall

Indonesian Terrestrial Nudibranch - SOLD 11cm x 11cm x 18cm tall

Arctic Tripod Cranefly - €4000 20cm x 20cm x 21cm tall

Coined vegan taxidermy, I use forest detritus such as desiccated leaves, seeds and twigs to create these carefully staged beasts, each complete with an extensive description. Juxtaposing old fashioned worlds of science and taxidermy with unsettling notions of the future, every custom-made casing has a brass label on the front engraved with the specimen’s common name, Latin name, sex and year “discovered”; with their very own QR Code on the back, a state-of-the-art door which opens into these extraordinary universes, detailing their habitat, ecology, how they evolved, their reproduction process and life span.