Haunting History

It is believed that after a traumatic event, a spirit, residue, or zeitgeist can attach itself to a place or object. History haunts us long after its moment has passed. If this is true, then the lives and experiences of non-human animals have most certainly left traces in the objects that scientists and museum curators call taxidermy specimens. Like all museological objects, taxidermy bears the marks of the processes that brought it into being—capture, death, and preservation.

The display of these uncanny entities is largely the domain of the Natural History Museum, which, like grand old mausoleums, is filled with the colourful breath of past experiences. It is curious that even when the ghosts of history are invoked, science still cannot entirely prove—or disprove—their existence. However small it may seem, doubt remains a vital part of scientific inquiry, illuminating its methods, cultural impact, and underlying motivations.

This ambiguity, for now, retains the power to open a space for curiosity, wonder, and imagination. In this spirit, the website before you explores and presents the work of Jesse Garbe, examining natural history, taxidermy, and the conventions, limitations, and influence of painting on our understanding of nature.