"Headless, As If Gagged"

Kate Mccgwire uses pigeon feathers, polystyrene, felt, and glue to create her sculptures. Her description of the work:

The twisted form of a serpent-like creature lies enclosed in an airless glass cabinet, a diverting object for museum display. Instead of the usual taxidermist's presentation of a perfectly preserved specimen complete with beady-eyed head, this animal appears to be headless, as if it's been gagged.

This feathered hybrid defies the naturalist's attempts at categorisation; half bird, half snake, it lies somewhere between a creature of myth, an extinct beast and a corporeal representation of the angst-ridden contortions of the human subconscious. This unavoidably human reference is reinforced by the animal's sinuous, bodily curves, which suggest both movement and life. Is this creature dead, as the vitrine implies, or suspended, like some eternally hibernating beast, between two states?

(Hat tip: Today And Tomorrow)