BFA, Studio Art (Sculpture) 

isabellaknut@gmail.com
https://www.instagram.com/isabellaknutsenart/?hl=en

Artist Statement

I created Trophy Room in an attempt to bring the viewer into a world parallel to our own. On the wall there is a fireplace, surrounded by dozens of ceramic and polymer clay animal heads mounted on wood plaques. The animals depicted in traditional taxidermy aesthetics are somewhat unexpected in one sense. Instead of a buck with intimidating antlers looming over you, a mouse, a frog and other animals typically seen as pests. By framing these unexpected animals in this light, I hope to imbue them with respect, even in death. On the mantel, sits a bronze rat. An animal many look down on, elevated through the bronze casting process and depicted in a fashion typically reserved for animals seen as elegant and beautiful. Among the stones on the fireplace hides a clay pigeon, inviting the viewer to think on the practice of shooting “clay pigeons”. The room itself is outfitted with the trappings of a lived in space. Green walls with potato stamp patterns covering the surface, a rug sits on the floor, and a chair faces the fireplace. The smell of a fresh fire fills the air, completing the illusion of the alternate reality.