“An exhibition of sad splendour”
Anatomy Lessons by Michele Beevors is a breathtaking exhibition, featuring meticulously-sculpted, life size skeletons, making visitors question their place in this web of the living and the dead. From the towering giraffe stretching 4.4 metres in height, to the army of over 50 delicately rendered frogs, this exhibition is enthralling in scale.Â
Each sculpture is an accurate portrayal of a real animal and is carefully measured, drawn, and moulded from steel, wire, and foam. The frame is then intricately knitted over to create these thought-provoking pieces.
The stories from Anatomy Lessons have stunned and delighted audiences across the globe. Each sculpture tells a story, one of the collection of animals by museums and collectors, of Western safari hunters, of human encroachment, and of the often-sad role of the animals in our lives.
These underlying concepts are explored and reflected in the materials used. Wool, that speaks of warmth, of comfort, of care, meets the size, grace, and sheer breathtaking beauty of the pieces, clashing with the hard and complex stories beneath.
Originally from Australia, Michele Beevors has been practicing in New Zealand for the last 20 years. She is Head of Sculpture at Dunedin School of Art, Otago Polytechnic, New Zealand’s oldest, and one of its most prestigious, art schools. Beevors has exhibited in galleries, museums, and exhibition spaces across New Zealand, Australia and Vienna with art that is defiant, unconventional, and moving.
