Polly Morgan (taxidermist) facts for kids

Polly Morgan is a British artist born in 1980. She is well-known for creating unique artworks using taxidermy. Taxidermy is the art of preserving animal bodies and making them look lifelike. However, Polly Morgan uses animals that have died naturally. Her art often shows animals in ways that are different from traditional taxidermy.

About Polly Morgan

Polly Morgan was born in Banbury, Oxfordshire, England, in 1980. She grew up on her family's farm in the Cotswolds. Being around animals and nature from a young age made her comfortable with the idea of death. She moved to East London in 1998 and still lives there today.

Polly studied English Literature at Queen Mary, University of London. She graduated in 2002. While she was studying, and after she finished, she worked at a bar that many artists visited.

How She Started Her Art

When Polly was 23, she began experimenting with taxidermy in her apartment. She was inspired to create her own art. To learn more, she took a course with a professional taxidermist named George Jamieson in Edinburgh. It quickly became clear that she had a special talent for this art form.

Her first art pieces were made for a restaurant called Bistrotheque. Soon after, the famous street artist Banksy noticed her work. In 2005, he invited her to show her art at an exhibition he organized called Santa's Ghetto. One of her pieces, a white rat in a champagne glass, was bought by Vanessa Branson in 2006. Today, Polly Morgan works from her studio in Bethnal Green, London.

Her Approach to Taxidermy

Polly Morgan is a member of the UK Guild of Taxidermists. She gets the animals for her art from a network of people. These animals have either died naturally or from accidents that could not be prevented. She keeps careful records of all the animals she uses.

Polly believes that her work is not disrespectful to animals. She thinks it's important to show animals as they are, rather than making them look like humans. Her art often shows animals in positions that highlight their natural forms, even after death.

Polly Morgan is married to Mat Collishaw, who is also an artist. They have two sons together.

Art Exhibitions

Polly Morgan's artworks have been shown in many exhibitions around the world. Some of her notable exhibitions include:

• Still Life After Death, 2006 at Kristy Stubbs Gallery
• The Exquisite Corpse, 2007 at Trinity Church
• You Dig the Tunnel, I'll Hide the Soil, 2008 at White Cube
• Mythologies, 2009 at Haunch of Venison
• The Age of the Marvellous, 2009 at All Visual Arts
• Psychopomps, 2010 at Haunch of Venison
• Contemporary Eye: Crossovers, 2010 at Pallant House Gallery
• Passion Fruits, 2011 at ME Collectors Room
• Burials, 2011 at Workshop Venice
• Dead Time, 2011 at Voide, Derry
• Endless Plains, 2012 at All Visual Arts
• 10,000 Hours, 2012 at Kunstmuseum Thurgau
• Foundation/Remains, 2013 at The Office Gallery, Nicosia, Cyprus
• The Nature of the Beast, 2013 at The New Art Gallery, Walsall
• Beasts of England, Beasts of Ireland, 2013 at VISUAL Centre for Contemporary Art
• Curiouser and Curiouser, 2014 at Warrington Museum and Art Gallery
• Fates Refrain, 2014 at Robilant + Voena Gallery
• Organic Matters, 2015 at The National Museum of Women in Art
• Dead Animals and the Curious Occurrence of Taxidermy in Contemporary Art, 2016 at David Winton Bell Gallery - Brown University
• Animal Farm, Beastly Muses and Metaphors, 2016 at S|2 GALLERY
• Daydreaming With Stanley Kubrick, 2016 at Somerset House
• 5 Years at Heddon Street, 2016 at Pippy Houldsworth Gallery
• Faith and Fathom, 2016 at Galleria Poggiali
• Naturalia, 2017 at Paul Kasmin Gallery

See also

• What Do Artists Do All Day?