I found a dead black snake on the way to Booderee and thought of my illustrations for Pauline McLeod about the Little Black Snake who conquers the giant goannas and becomes poisonous by stealing their poison. I placed the partly decomposed snake (nayin) on canvas to continue disintegration. I also placed shrimp leftover from my dad’s fishing trip with my kids. It would be better to stretch the paper first in my sacred waterhole.
Category: Shroud Set
Animals of the World
The tragic situation
2nd Spring shroud set
It was a very windy cold day for summer and we arrived at the farm to see Steven and Tony. We had the trailer as we had decided to pack up the installation with the idea of setting it up on top of Tumbarumba Mountain. A long time ago we bought shares in the land to save it from logging so it is original forest with large gums. I intend to include more plant matter on these next sets over summer.
The second spring set was exquisite. It had been left for 6 weeks in storms and wind and the colourful birds had melted with their feathers neatly placed. I would have liked to have sewn them on, but it would have to be done on site as they would fall apart, another reason for Tumbarumba as it is a great camping spot to spend time. We could set up a processing area too using eucalyptus and having a line undercover so I do not have to process on my washing line at home. If there was a small shed installed I could have bodies drying out inside too.
One of the possum pairs had been stained a beautiful yellow from the tree and I imagined a lot more staining in a eucalyptus forest.
Setting up a 2nd Spring set
Dad and I found a king parrot in perfect condition down the coast and he wrapped it for me like it was being stored for taxidermy to keep the feathers neat. My new friend Francis gave me a rosella and a crested pigeon found in Canberra and the other Canberran animals were 4 possums, sadly some big males looking for love, and 3 magpies which I find regularly.
Collection and processing the first spring shrouds
Tepi, Adam and I visited Tony on the farm and encountered the ewe, lambs and echidna post-decomposition. the ewe was still full of maggots, but we removed it anyway and Adam used the steel rake to drag the putrid body away from the shroud site. It was a very smelly visit, and Tepi complained of the smell. Adam and I persisted in the heat and wind, it was very hard work.We left the ewe shroud to dry out and at home I processed the 3 lambs and the echidna in vinegar.
fish shroud
I am experimenting with my first fish shroud using pilchards on watercolour paper. I have installed the work in progress at mum and dad’s on the coast.
Spring lambs
There have been many births on Tony and Steven’s sheep farm, but also death as some lambs and ewes don’t make it. Often its the crows pecking out the eyes of the weak or in distress, or there are difficult births such as a set of large triplets, two made it out while the ewe died with the third inside. the twins subsequently died. Ewes will sometimes abandon their lamb too and Steven and Tony raise as many of the orphan lambs by bottle feeding as they can. Their neighbor’s are helping too.
The dear sweet forms of the newborn lambs are often so slight. Another dead pregnant ewe was very heavy with the baby inside, the blood streaming out of her eyes show her death was caused by the crows blinding her.
While macabre, placing the lamb suckling her also commemorates her motherly state in death and attempts to reflect the time of death, spring lambing as the weather becomes warmer.
Chough and Starling
It was the dirty end of winter when I went with Adam and Tepi out to the farm for the chough and starling to be placed on a canvas together.
Tepi had found the starling on the farm, while I had encountered the chough dieing by the roadside amidst morning traffic. His kin surrounded him calling in distress. I moved him away from further damage under a tree and the next day found him dead.
Birds print so beautifully, their feathers being conducive to ‘drawn’ edges and a clean silhouette.
Processing the fox shroud
The collection of the fox shroud, its soaking in vinegar and drying prior to boiling in a eucalyptus leaf tea in the old copper cauldron.
Autumn 2011 shroud set
I soaked the terribly rancid echidna shroud for weeks in vinegar. After one month of decomposition Adam and I visited the animals we had set up in autumn. As the weather was colder decay had slowed down so we decided to leave them for another month before collection. I also processed the echidna shroud further by boiling it in eucalyptus leaves. It is the darkest shroud yet.
http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=104087
After 2 months Adam and I took Zephyr and Tepi out to the farm so they could run free. We had a lovely discussion with Steven about our animal art practices and PhD research then collected the shrouds. At home we processed them in vinegar, and one, the possum, in eucalyptus leaves. After removing the fox body we left the shroud at the farm so the maggots and ooze would dry. I have also placed a starling Tepi found at the farm that day on this shroud to decompose.
Laomedia 