Trophies

Overview

Trophies extends the conceptual framework of Unethically Sourced, shifting from the bear-skin rug cliché to the equally iconic wall-mounted hunting bust. Made from the remaining stuffed animal heads used in Unethically Sourced, the series consists of five mounted sculptures—each head corresponding to a section of the original hide.

Every “trophy” is affixed to a custom wooden plaque, designed in Adobe Illustrator, laser-cut from mahogany, and matched to the scale and posture of traditional taxidermy. The heads are hand-sewn into position, and their eyes are replaced with X-shaped buttons—3D modeled in Fusion360 and printed to mimic the role of glass taxidermy eyes. The result is a bizarre inversion of the hunter’s living room trope: familiar forms rendered uncanny through cartoonish materials.

Like its predecessor, Trophies navigates a deliberately uncomfortable space. Although the subjects were never alive, the violence implied by decapitation and display feels disturbingly real. The work asks why mounting the heads of fictional creatures evokes disgust, while mounting the heads of real animals has long been normalized as a form of prestige.