Polly Morgan - Psychopomps (SIGNED)

Psychopomps was Polly Morgan's first solo exhibition with Haunch of Venison. It consisted of four suspended taxidermy sculptures, each poised between metamorphosis and flight.Named Psychopomps after the mythical creatures that conduct souls into the after-life, their historical representation includes Hermes and Charon from Greek mythology, the Valkyries from Norse myth, Anubis the jackal-headed Egyptian God, and in various cultures, horses, bees, birds and shamans.In Morgan's vision, these winged creatures are represented as a fabulous troupe made up of flying machine, a bright red cardinal held in a human ribcage carried by balloons, and two winged cornucopias. The flying machine offers a fantastical inversion of the life of a caged bird. Rather than imprisoned, these flame-coloured finches fly above their cage, carrying it off as if to another world.Inert but seemingly poised to journey somewhere far away Morgan's Psychopomps are hybrids that evoke on the one hand, the metaphoric nature of these soul conductors, and on the other, the traditions of taxidermy and its attempt to reinvigorate the bodies of dead animalsMorgan's reassembled creatures are a distortion of nature, as if dredged from a dream. The abundance of wings and its nightmarish connotations add a surreal psychological dimension to these elevated spectres, which fan their plume but remain disembodied and faceless.Published on the occasion of the exhibition at Haunch of Venison, London, 21 July - 25 September 2010. Title: Psychopomps Author: Polly Morgan ISBN: 9781905620524 Publisher: Haunch of Venison Publication Date: 2011 Format: Hardback Edition: Edition: 2nd Edition (2011) , Signed Condition: Very Good