Anatomist John Hunter collected and preserved these animals more than two hundred years ago, and artist Elaine Duigenan photographed them on display at the Royal College of Surgeons in England. The results are hauntingly beautiful captures of nature no longer in motion. You can view more of Duigenan’s work on her Web site and blog.
Slow and Steady
Duigenan gives every object she works with new meaning beyond its form. Pictured here is a Bradypus tridactylus, or pale-throated sloth.
A Batty Point of View
“For me, photography has become an ‘act of preservation,’ and objects I focus on become the locators or igniters of memory,” Duigenan says. This is a close-up picture of a preserved bat.
Scaly Sedation
Duigenan’s work with Hunter’s preserved animals took three years to complete. Hunter completed his work over the course of thirty-three years, from 1760 to 1793.
