This was actually a project I suggested to Arlene at the end of 2014, thankfully it was something she had been thinking of doing. Arlene and I graduated in 2013 from the Centre for Creative Arts and Media (CCAM) in Galway and she was a fellow artist who’s work I always admired. Arlene began to adopt the craft of taxidermy into her art in year three of our studies, it was an experience to be in a studio close by hacking a computer while she hacked the carcass of an animal. Arlene took to it like a duck to water, travelling the country to work with seasoned taxidermists to learn the trade.
The website I knew had to be completely pared back and really offer nothing only a glass frame for her work to sit in, somewhat like the physical works of traditional taxidermy I saw the website as a glass box that held her work. I built a few designs for Arlene to choose from and happily she favoured what I favoured and this was continuous throughout the build. One of the key factors of the site was the way the works were photographed. I instructed Arlene what I hoped for the photographs used on the site; she worked together with a Sligo based photographer that goes by the name Condoh to successfully fill the brief I layed out.
My main approach was to build a minimal site that held all Arlene’s work in a way that the work held all the weight. I think we achieved this and were lucky enough to make it to the semi-final of O.M.I.G. best website awards in 2015.