Off to see an exhibition and feed our brains |
About fifteen years ago me and Mister Bee visited a tiny museum in Cornwall called Mr Potter's Museum of Curiosities. It was named after the self-taught taxidermist, Walter Potter, who stuffed animals in the 1800s and created quite surreal tableaux featuring them
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The kittens tea party |
The exhibition which only filled a few rooms featured tiny stuffed animals wearing suits, frilly knickers, monocles, smoking pipes and all staged in little "everyday" scenes.
Ssquirrel's were shown smoking and drinking, a rats den played out a "raid" by rat police, there was a tiny village school with forty eight little rabbits writing on miniature slates and a kittens tea party. All jostling for position as the most bizarre and creepy things we had ever seen.
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The rabbit class room |
The museum doesn't exist any more. The collection was sold off a few years ago and created quite a stir with the likes of David Bailey, Peter Blake and Damien Hirst all apparently interested in buying pieces, It was reported at the time that Damien Hirst bid a million pounds for "Who Killed Cock Robin" which was the display which had taken Potter years and is considered his finest work.
My step father is an artist and did some taxidermy for school exhibitions to make ends meet when we were children so I appreciate how skilled Mr Potter was but I think its fair to say he must have been quite bonkers.
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The Kitten Wedding |
Obviously the animal lover in me would be very upset if something like this was created now but as at the time of creation they were sending children up chimneys I have put this aside and just salute it for sheer weirdness-Mr Potter, you are "special"
Whats the strangest exhibition or museum piece you have ever seen?
