Arts: Making Roadkill Beautiful

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Behold Making Roadkill Beautiful By David Rosenberg Posted Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013, at 04:00 PM ET Marian Drew is often contacted by people interested in giving her dead animals. Blame it on Drew's elaborate still-life studies of dead animals (mostly roadkill) called "Still Life /Australiana (2003-2009)." "As soon as I had the first exhibition, people said, 'I have this beautiful bird, would you like to do something with it?' " Drew said. Drew was inspired to create the series after visiting a museum in Germany that exhibited paintings of dead animals. When she returned to Australia and was surrounded by roadkill, she was immediately reminded of the paintings and began working on the series. "You sort of grow up with roadkill in Australia, and people—me included—try desperately to ignore it," said Drew. "[Doing the series] seemed like a way to translate the situation of animals dying as a consequence of our dominance of the environment." Drew initially started photographing the animals in groups, similar to classic paintings that depict a bounty collected from a hunting trip. "Then I decided I wanted to give significance to each animal, so I shot them as individuals," Drew noted. Photographing the animals in a kitchen setting was also meant to add meaning to each animal's life. "You can't get a closer connection than the kitchen table for intimacy or relevance to our lives. … I tried to make them [the animals] beautiful with lights and a slower exposure, so they have a bit of a glow about them," said Drew. The kitchen also helped to bring the ... To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate The Passion of Rand Paul The Saga of Tomsan Why America's Charities Are So Uncharitable	Advertisement
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