“Owen” 2016
The delicate craft of taxidermy has captivated a new wave of artists, its use of dark surrealist humour inspiring a modern and playful take on what was once a humble curiosity.
Harriet Horton studied philosophy and aesthetics and this informs the artist’s delicate and contemporary pieces. The veneration and appreciation of the beauty and shape of the animals is given an almost altar-like stage with Horton’s dramatic use of neon lights.
For her upcoming show in Paris entitled ‘Camouflage’, Horton has worked with hand coloured marble dust and cement. Experimenting with reconstituted marble, the artist is using this classic element in a new way, giving it colour and combining it with the industrial and Brutalist nature of cement.
In the new works being created for the show, the artist is exploring a new relationship with neon using organic structures, with irregular twists and bends, to create something on a larger scale and different from her previous work.
Lovers 2016
Suzanne and I 2015
Resisting the tired traditional presentation of taxidermy, Harriet has created stages in which the modest animals she chooses are given light, colour and drama. She has introduced her love of electronic and classical music into the work, using a soundtrack at the last show created for the work by the musician and producer, Rob Shields.
Horton said: “I’ve always said that when animals are deceased their natural colouring and camouflage becomes redundant. I have explored this idea further by either using animals that have no existing markings or stripping them of their original colouring and reconstructing it with light.”
Harriet’s work is undeniably feminine and seems part of a growing wave of female artists working with beautiful objects and a modern sensitivity.
In 2015 Harriet exhibited at Flux and had a solo show in The Crypt Gallery, London NW1. She is represented in London by Contemporary Collective, in Paris at mi* galerie and in Chicago by Gallerique. Harriet will be holding a Private View of the new work at her studio, Darnley Road Studios 29 September 2016.
