The fifteen images in Salt Marsh Predators, from the Italian publisher Blister Zine (limited to 100 copies), were all taken at the Natural Science Museum in Ravenna. We see weasels, porcupines, parakeets, eagles, bonobos and ducks—and all of them are stuffed. No photographer is credited. The captions bear only the Latin names for each species. These photographs do not stand out for their intrinsic qualities, but join the many contemporary photographers interested in taxidermy (and to which the Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris recently devoted an exhibition.)
What distinguishes Salt Marsh Predators is the unexpected equipment that comes with it: a pair of 3D glasses with red and blue lenses. They bring the dead animals to life, or rather, they present the animals the way we are used to see them in the display cases of natural history museums, in the half-state between life and History, still showing signs of movement.
This is an original collaboration between photographer and publisher. It serves as a practical illustration of the links between photography and taxidermy, both of which suspend a moment in time for our contemplation.
15 euros.
More information can be found on the blisterZine homepage.
