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"Warhol, Lichtenstein, Indiana: Modern Master Works" at Scream Gallery

Exhibition runs until 4 September 2010

Kilimanjaro Magazine Spring 2010

Interview with Polly Morgan for the spring 2010 issue of Kilimanjaro magazine.

"I Love how physical taxidermy is"
A Conversation with Polly Morgan

www.kilimag.com


In a post-feminist age when a shocking amount of women aspire to appear on Big Brother, before launching themselves into a career of making money by flaunting their bodies, and cite Jordan's autobiography as their favourite book, Natasha Walter's book 'Living Dolls' identifies 'the return of sexism', and points out that “..images that a previous generation often saw as degrading for women have now been taken up as playful and even aspirational". Walters pinpoints the popularity of glamour modeling, a profession that was once frowned upon by the majority of women, but is now seen by many young girls as a desirable industry. This cultural shift in the attitude towards stripping for the cameras, is symptomatic of the multitude of semi-pornographic images that bombard us daily via the tabloids, music promos, men’s magazines, social networking sites and reality TV shows such as Big Brother and I’m a Celebrity…

Walter, the author of 'The New Feminism', publishes her book in the 40th anniversary year of Germaine Greer's 'The Female Eunuch', and 50 years after Penguin Books were taken to court over the publication of D.H. Lawrence's 'Lady Chatterley's Lover'. It seems incredible now, in an era when images of scantily clad women with surgically enhanced embonpoint’s are ten a penny, that a text as tame as Lawrence's, should have caused such moral outrage only half a decade ago. Perhaps what is more surprising is the way that the new generation of women would prefer a stint on reality TV than a place on a degree course.

Idealised images of female beauty have been prevalent in art since antiquity, and in entertainment since the invention of the still and moving image, and Feminists have criticised these artificial images for more than two centuries. However it is only really since the Noughties, with the advent of reality TV and invention of the Internet and YouTube, that advances in women's rights made by the suffragettes and the subsequent generation, have been reinterpreted by the contemporary young woman in a totally different, often anti-Feminist way. Granted that prostitiution is the oldest profession around, yet women today see its off-shoots - pole dancing, pornography, tabloid kiss-and-tell's, Big Brother appearances and glamour modelling - as valid professions.

"From Mary Wollstonecraft's 'A vindication of the Rights of women in 1792...brilliant and angry women have demanded a change in these ideals. Yet far from fading away, they have become narrower and more powerful than ever. What's more, throughout much of our society, the image of female perfection to which women are encourage to aspire has become more and more defined by sexual allure".

Natasha Walter, Living Dolls

Walter's book illustrates a literary view of women now, but how do today's young generation of female artists feel about the representation of the female image, and persona, in art and in life? And how do they react to it in their own practice, if at all? The history of art is populated by many strong female characters, whose work is often autobiographical and expresses the trauma of being a woman, from the horrific childhood accident of Frida Kahlo, to the trauma of abortion experienced by Tracey Emin. However the number of celebrated female artists is far outweighed by famous, often misogynist males artists such as Pollock and Picasso, and female artists are under-represented by the major museum collections, a fact often lamented by the contemporary feminist art movement The Guerilla Girls.

So who are the new generation of female artists, and how have they reacted to feminism? Are they carving themselves a new niche in the history of art, or are they reverting to traditionally female practices, in a backlash against technological advances and society’s general move away from traditional moral values? It is certainly true when surveying the work produced by some of the young women working in the British art world today, that many are reviving traditionally female crafts, such as embroidery and ceramics, or working in traditional media such as drawing (Epoh Beech), painting or illustration (Daisy de Villeneuve); reviving ancient skills such as taxidermy (Polly Morgan) or embroidery (Louise Richardson); or celebrating the beauty of the classical female form (Natasha Law). All these young artists are rejuvenating styles and techniques that my once have been considered passé. Epoh Beech trained as a Fine Artist in Florence, and has subsequently revived specialist painting traditions such as Venetian plaster work, frottage and lacquering, recently creating a series of murals for the crypt of St. Luke’s Church. Her recent solo show ‘The Marriage of The Thames and The Rhine’ included ethereal charcoal drawings and a hand drawn animation. Louise Richardson creates fragile sculptures from remnants of lost childhoods, using nails, butterflies, embroidery and bronze to embalm memories from a bygone era. Daisy de Villeneuve and Natasha Law celebrate the beauty of the female form with bold palettes and graphic lines.

Polly Morgan has exhibited internationally and to great acclaim, and her work is highly sought after by collectors from all over the world. Recent exhibitions include; AVA exhibition ‘The Age of the Marvellous’ during Frieze Art Fair (2009); Concrete & Glass Festival curated by Flora Fairbairn (2009); and the group show Mythologies curated by James Putnam for Haunch of Venison (2009). In 2010 Morgan will be exhibiting new work at; The Armory in New York, Haunch of Venison in London and ASSABONE in Milan.

Morgan arrived in London aged 18 to study English Literature, and found herself running a bar in the centre of artistic activity that is Hoxton, before dabbling in taxidermy whilst decorating her flat, and discovering a passion that she successfully and organically turned into a unique and personal contemporary art form. Morgan has taken the mould of traditional taxidermy, and turned it on its head, by creating sculptures of dead animals as opposed to transplanting them into artificial bucolic arrangements.


LJ: Historically there has been a significantly higher percentage of fêted male artists than female artists. Often the celebrated male artists from history, such as Pollock and Picasso, were as applauded for their virility and machismo as for their artistic output. Although there are many successful female artists working today, such as Tracey Emin and Sam Taylor Wood, The Guerilla Girls point out that the number of men still far outweighs the number of women. Are you conscious of being a female in a man’s world, or can you notice a shift in the balance of power?

PM: I have to say in a way I’m not a great person to talk to about this. I get really annoyed about being pigeon holed as being female or a female artist. I just don’t see the distinction at all to be honest. I know that females are different to males in many ways, but I don’t think of myself as having anything more in common with the next female artist other than our physical makeup. I certainly haven’t felt at any point that I’ve been discriminated against on that basis. For example I often think if I was called a ‘Black’ artist I’d be annoyed. I’ve been reading a few things about Chris Ofili recently. Maybe he doesn’t mind. But why can’t he just be an ‘Artist’, why does he have to be a ‘Black Artist’? It’s (being a female artist) not something I’ve ever picked up on. And it’s not something I think I deal with in my work in any way at all.

LJ: I did an interview with an Iranian artist called Khosrow Hassanzadeh, and he was really angry when I asked ‘how do you feel about being an Iranian artist’. He got really annoyed as he sees himself purely as an Artist. He said “I’m not an Iranian artist – I’m an ARTIST’.

PM: Yes I sympathise with that definitely. I’m not disputing the fact that there are fewer female artists represented in galleries, but we’re not a minority. Also I’m really anti this kind of victimness that peple take on. Trying to look for excuses for a lack of success or being held back. Maybe I’ve been blessed but I feel like we all have challenges, and all have to find ways to overcome them. I don’t live in Iran, I’m not made to wear a Burka. I have an extremely liberal existence really where I can do what I like. I don’t have any cause for complaint in terms of being female. I just don’t like that victim mentality. I would much rather assume that I’ve just got to work harder or personally do better. If I’m not doing well I’ll take that responsibility on myself than for any other reason.

LJ: So it’s not something that’s ever been on your radar?

PM: Not really no, I don’t feel like it has. In terms of women being less represented, I’m sure things have got better. I think in the art world women have had an easier time than in business. I think creatively women have had an easier ride than women working in different fields. I know there are still discrepancies in salaries in business, and I think that’s totally wrong. One of the reasons is that women have children… a lot of the successful female artists don’t have children. It’s almost as though they’re nurturing their artwork, and that gives them the same sense of satisfaction. I do want to have children at some point, but I think when that happens my eyes going to go off the ball. I think that when most women have children their priorities change. That’s definitely one of the reasons why women haven’t been as successful. They don’t have the same drive they used to have, and they just want to look after their child.

LJ: Did you see the TV documentary on Maggi Hambling? She talked about that…about being alone with her art. She’s obsessed with her paintings, and that’s all she does from the moment she wakes up until she goes to bed, and she said it’s like having a replacement child.

PM: It fascinates me because I’ve met a lot of female artists who haven’t had children. A lot have chosen not to have children, or they’ve suddenly turned around and realised it’s too late. I’m aware it could happen to me. I’m the same, I live and breathe my work, I work right up until the point I go to bed. There’s very little that can break me away from that, apart from the odd family or social obligation. I could probably have a happy fulfilled life without children, because I could carry on doing this, and I’m very lucky I’m working at something I enjoy. But there’s a danger as an artist that you can get caught up in the work and suddenly it’s too late.

LJ: I’ve been reading this book ‘Living Dolls’. It’s about post-feminism, and how a lot of women as a career choice now want to be like Jordan or be on the cover of Nuts magazine, or on Big Brother. So the Author is lamenting how we’re going backwards since the strides made by the Suffragettes. Some of the women she interviews in the book say they find it ‘liberating’. How do you respond to that?

PM: I think they’re very short sighted because their looks will fade. They’re going to be old and their tits won’t titillate people any more. I agree with Walter, I just view them with bemusement. I feel sorry for them because they’re young and deluded, and read all this stuff and think that’s the way they should go. It upsets me that I would be lumped in with people like that simply because we share physical makeup. I don’t understand their reasons really. Even though I’m only 30, when I was a teenager, there weren’t people like Jordan then. There were people like Sam Fox, but she was more of a man’s person than a woman’s person. It’s weird how Jordan has become a female icon. That whole ‘It’s empowering thing’. I’m not sure what to make of that. I suppose they think empowerment equals getting attention in some way. Attention for all the wrong reasons. I can’t help thinking these people haven’t nurtured other aspects of their characters. It’s a shame because we’re all going to grow old and not look as good any more.

LJ: So actually the career you’ve chosen as an artist has far more longevity?

PM: Yes, even if I stop making money at it, or the interest wanes, I still wouldn’t stop doing it. It’s given me a lot of interesting life experiences. If I’d just been showing my tits, I wouldn’t be employed any more as I’d be pretty much past it. It’s kind of hollow, like when people get addicted to plastic surgery. I’ve just never been happy unless I’m physically creating something, or making something happen. And I hate being in the limelight in any way.

LJ: How did you go from studying English at University to studying taxidermy?

PM: I was quite good academically and at following instructions, but not remotely inspired by it. I ended up taking what I thought was one of the easier courses. I just wanted to come and live in London really. As soon as I got there I got a job in a bar called the Electricity Showrooms in Hoxton Square when I was 18 – that was my university really. I haven’t moved far from there since. Everyone there was creative. It was never a conscious decision, I never thought of myself as being an artist at all. I just felt at home there. I tried photography, sculpture, freelance journalism. Then Taxidermy just came to me when I was trying to find some Taxidermy to decorate my flat on ebay. When I had my first lesson in taxidermy I knew I didn’t want to do anything else. I was already moving in art circles, so it was easy for me to get the work seen by people in that industry, so I was lucky in that sense.

LJ: So have you always had a fascination with animals?

PM: When I was growing up in the Cotswolds, my Dad was always starting up business ventures with animals. We had Llamas, Chickens, Budgies…you name it we had it at some point. I took it for granted, but now I’d love to go back and look at all those animals again. It was only when I came to London and didn’t see any animals, that I started to notice their absence. Then when I learnt taxidermy it awakened this obsession with animals. I suppose it must have had an influence on me when I was young, and used to get woken up by my dad to go and herd goats on the road.

LJ: How did you adapt Taxidermy to art?

PM: It was quite natural. I have a slightly perverse streak in me. If I look back I’ve always wanted to do the opposite what other people do. I love how physical taxidermy is, and how you get to know the anatomy. There were lots of people doing traditional taxidermy, which is mimicking natural habitats. I wanted to taxidermy animals in their death pose. What kicked it off was when David Waddington, who was co-manager at Electricity Showrooms with me, opened Bistrothèque & asked me to come up with scenes for some glass domes. There was a deadline, which I need or I don’t finish anything. There was an unveiling and we invited some friends. It turned into an opening, and everyone kept saying “I didn’t know you were an Artist”. I said “I’m not I’m not!” Banksy was at the unveiling and asked me to put some work in Zoo Art Fair.

LJ: Are you influenced by Dutch still lives or Old Masters?

PM: Not consciously. I haven’t come from an art background. What I’ve learnt about art I’ve learnt in the last 4 years. All my friends are Artists so I’m more interested in nipping into galleries now than before. I find it difficult to pinpoint my influences. It’s very rare I look into a genre of art to get influences. I’m sure I’m influenced by other artists and life in general, but it’s hard to pinpoint. I suppose Surrealism has been an influence.

LJ: Are there any female artists that inspire you i.e. Louise Bourgeois, Eva Hesse or Kiki Smith, who all used unusual materials in their work (i.e. blood, latex, plastic, fibreglass).

PM: There’s an artist I like at the moment called Kate Maguire who’s doing these Serpent-like sculptures.

LJ: Sounds like its more subconscious from animals in your childhood?

PM: Yes I’m certainly not an Artist that references other movements, because I didn’t go to art school. So I don’t have that way of looking at things. It’s been an advantage really as I didn’t have that awe of a subject you have when you’ve been taught it. I’m glad it’s been like that because I never really distinguished between anybody. Although I did meet Sophie Calle recently. I like her work and she collects Taxidermy. She’s asked to meet me. I love female artists – they’re strong characters and admirable women. She’s another one who hasn’t had children.

LJ: Are there many females in the guild of Taxidermy?

PM: There’s a woman called Emily Mayer who has pioneered a form of Taxidermy called ‘Erosion Casting’. She’s become one of the best in the world at it. It existed as an art for a while, but she pushed it to new levels. I went on Richard & Judy with her a couple of years ago! She’s been Chairman of the Guild a few times. I went to one of their conferences a couple of years ago. There were quite a few girls there, but I guess it’s about 90% men. But when I advertise for interns something like 39 out of 40 applicants are female. All my interns are female. We all think we’re really unique until we meet each other, and realise there’s 100’s of us.

LJ: What’s coming up next?

PM: I’m working on a solo show at Haunch of Venison in July at what used to be the Museum of Mankind. There’s a room called the project space that I’m taking over. And a show in March at ASSABONE in Milan, curated by James Putnam, who curated the Mythologies show at Haunch.

LJ: Are you going to work with the fact that it’s the former Museum of Mankind

www.pollymorgan.co.uk