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Curious Beasts Have Overrun The SA Museum

Not literally, but kind of. Anyone with a love of the animal kingdom will appreciate this brilliant new exhibition.

Remember being a kid and being utterly fascinated by taxidermy? No? Look, sure we all like the animals when they’re alive and kicking but there’s no way we could ever get to look this closely at the marvels of the animal kingdom without the help of those who dedicated their lives to recording and preserving their majesty.

The exhibition Curious Beasts, currently showcased at South Australian Museum in collaboration with The British Museum is currently on the final leg of a huge international tour and is showing exclusively in South Australia until February. It can only be exhibited five times due to the delicacy of the prints included, making this truly a once in a lifetime opportunity to head along. Combining an intricate showcase of printmaking with works dating all the way back to its invention in Europe in the 15th Century, at a time where people were increasingly interested in the natural world, it’s being paired with some quite striking taxidermy to bring the exhibition to life (not literally, but you get the idea).

Curious Beasts   Curious Beasts Curious BeastsThe British Museum have also commented that they are especially pleased with the Adelaide showing of this exhibition, and how beautifully everything has been put together. It has been curated with a salon-style vibe in mind, with contrasting counteractions of old and new pieces; a visual metaphor for the old style of cataloguing for the prints, which at the time was an extremely innovative practice.

Up close, the designs are intricate and compelling to marvel at; a true marriage of art and science. Some prints communicate a more interpretive and artistic style to the animals they feature, while others are reflections of exploratory scientific illustration. From the 15th to the 19th century there was a documented transition away from artistic designs for public viewing, to actually understanding the animals, their anatomy and how they exist. Fascinatingly, a lot of the time the artists hadn’t seen the animals they were drawing, creating the beasts from verbal descriptions; most famously in Durer’s Rhinoceros (displayed at the exhibition, and simply jaw dropping to see up close).

From these interpretations you gain a sense of the mythology that must have surrounded these exotic animals at the time. These images are like a snapshot of a time on verge of scientific breakthroughs, the very same that ultimately shape our understanding of animals today. Especially fascinating are the snapshots of Australian fauna from pre-colonisation. It’s a window into a time before the British dictated the lay of the land.

Curious Beasts
Curious BeastsCurious Beasts is well worth your appreciation, full of richly masterful prints that satisfy a love of art just as much as a fascination with science. Exhibiting daily at the South Australian Museum until February 5th, 2017, for more information and to book online, visit the Museum website or drop in along North Terrace whenever you have a spare hour to give.

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