20110814
Still Life (Fox)
The moment I stumbled on this partially decomposed skeleton of a juvenile Fox (Vulpes vulpes) I believed it would make a compelling still life. The skeleton had, it appeared, remained pretty much undisturbed. Hidden beneath a pile of pallets, the animal – which appeared to have been shot (there were two holes near its heart consistent with a .22 rifle) – was positioned as it would have fallen or as it would have lay down to await its demise. The only exception was the fox's right hind leg, which had become separated. The detail remaining in the corpse was incredible. Much of the animal's skin remained over its ribcage; every one of the teeth remained in place; and the thick, pitted skin of the animal's nose was perfectly preserved. The image is, inevitably, a little macabre but – with death an inevitable part of life – I believe it is no less beautiful for that.
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Beautiful shot Tim and as you say as macabre as it is its part and parcel of our existence. A very arty depiction of the very thing most of us loathe to think about but what is essentially only natural, unless a .22 rifle was involved then we could say the process was somewhat speeded up...
ReplyDeleteThats an interesting find tim, it's always fascinating finding skeletal remains.
ReplyDeleteI hope one day the prat who shot it has his remains disurbed too :-)
Ooh, that reminds me of a skeleton of a cat that I once saw in a museum. Looks so different from when it was covered in thick fur.
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