Taxidermy's been hot in certain fashion circles over the last few years, but taxidermist Harriet Horton has taken it one step further - in making dead animals totally on trend, yah?
Horton, a 25-year-old artist living in East London, says that the fashion industry has "given [her] a great insight into creativity", which might explain why her stuffed animals are imprinted with the Chanel logo, dyed bright colours or adorned with (other animals') fur and trinkets.
It's an unusual approach, but Horton says that's the point: "I find traditional taxidermy very tiresome and dated. Once you've seen one stuffed pheasant you've seen them all."
Black Squirrel Coraline shows off what she's got.
So why become such a... macabre artist in the first place? Horton says a combination of factors was responsible.
"Since I can remember I've always been obsessed with animals and wanted a career where I could work with them. My initial idea was to become a vet but soon abandoned that plan when I realised it involved working more with people than animals so I turned to taxidermy."
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This rat has had a designer touch.
"My parents always had various stuffed animals around the house so it wasn't out of the ordinary for me."
We reckon there weren't any quite like these, though. Check out Horton's fancy animals in the gallery below.
Harriet Horton's work is currently on show at Brick Lane Gallery.
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The Huffington Post UK | By Alice E. Vincent Posted: 02/08/2012 09:39 Updated: 08/08/2012 13:50