Some readers will find ALL of these things offensive.
D.I.Y Taxidermy 6: Throw The
Book Away
was
FULL ON
A taxidermy show to blow others out the water. A
comedy, a tragedy.... Thought provoking, bold, completely sick but utterly compelling. A performance
that encompassed video, storytelling, demonstration and
improvisation mixed together with audience participation.
A darkly enthralling performance that would test even the strongest of constitutions and consciences as I released insanity to
epic proportions. Things
people have genuinely never seen, thought, felt or smelt before.
I got down, I got dirty and showed parts of myself usually reserved
for behind closed doors.... and certainly not for closed minds. Tonight was the night I blasted them open
We blasted them open with this:
'LIVE ANIMALATION' Definition: The use of real animals in animation.
Animating animals- real animals.
Stop frame animation was the next stop. Mark Arrigo was my man in control of the camera.
You might have noticed the death metal. There are other sound designers working on it with more naturlistic noises but as it was Halloween I knew I could crank up the obscene
level. so Music producer and ingeniously gifted Joe Grouse put together some hardcore death metal.
The idea for this stop motion happened ages and ages ago but I was waiting for the perfect
person to be collaborate with on my next
exciting invention.
I stared doing this in puppetry style 2 years ago. My first- the original MEOW MEOW was stolen. What you will see is a remake. My 2nd animalation stared a singing Badger entitled: BADGERS ARE INNOCENT!!!
After skinning a badger, I decided he needed to sing his song, to tell
his sad story, channeled through me. A selection of live animalations
can be found on my YOUTUBE channel.
* * *
The audience were informed heavily that this show came with
a WARNING. A massive big flashing warning. You never know how people will take things. But these
people took it well. Hilariously well. And in one magical hour I managed to skin a lamb whilst audience
members got to grips with a rabbit and a squirrel: This squirrel:
When I got this squirrel it was still warm.
Mum felt guilty for not stopping for the last one on the
road but I got the fright of my life when it basically could have still
been alive. I was trying desperately to check the pulse whilst my family
screamed 'IT'S ALIVE!! IT'S ALIVE!!!' driving like maniacs through the country
lanes, convinced it would come to it's senses any minute.
SQUIRREL ON A BUS
Somewhere in the world there is C.C.T.V footage of me waving a definitely dead squirrel around on a bus- trying to take it's photo against all the famous London landmarks.
Video performances of Live Animalation's were played in between informing the audience on the very basics of taxidermy.
An exhibition of old, remade and previously unseen sculptural work accompanied the show.
Number 11
PUSSYCAT was showcased
This piece has since seen me banned on social networking sites.
After sucessfully skinning a lamb we cut to the
INTERVAL
It was in this time I gutted the carcas and hung it in a special pose
In the weeks before I had written to
Nigella Lawson to see if she wanted to sex up my hotpot but she didn't
reply. Instead I brought my reliable and ultimately more portable chef George Forman. I opened the
cooking up to the floor to see if anyone else was up the the challenge- Amazingly there was a genuine
roadkill chef: Craig from MAD DOG T.V DINNERS!!!
And together we welcomed the second half of the show by dishing up the cooked rabbit the students had been practicing on. He did a stunning job of carving up the meat, plating and serving the mouths of babes.
But before the eating commenced I got the audience to sign this contract
The contract was to get me out of trouble in case anyone got
ill.Here it is in the small print
The Charlie Tuesday Gates
Fine Dead Dining Experience
Greetings brave foodie,
This is officially a legally binding contract. While every
precaution has been taken to make sure the food is safe for human consumption-
it may not be. By signing this you agree to the terms and conditions below:
1: Charlie Tuesday Gates is the greatest living artist
2: If any harm comes to the ingester -it is not because you
were forced to eat artwork.
3: If I (the ingester) experience symptoms similar to food
poisoning it is because of my weak constitution and emotional instability.
4: I may only say
good things about my fine dining experience.
SIGNED.....
I couldn't believe how many people were willing to potentially sign up for life threatening diseases! I didn't have enough contracts or food to go round. There was a CUE!!!
To calm them all down I brought out the 3rd Live Animalation One Night In Peckham
I told the audience of my personal drying techniques and also offered handy tips and hints onto how to make a mold whilst at the same time encouraging them to think outside of the box-
This is me with Damien (Hirst), my lamb filled with expanding foam.
We dressed the skinned lamb in a 'Here's one I made earlier' moment and once fully clothed we moved onto the pinnacle of the show!
LIFE! DEATH! PRIZES!
This raffle was billed to blow your enlarged minds with
amazing prizes and bonus surprises. New, improved and extra specially bizarre, there was not a wine bottle or hamper in sight. The sights were set MUCH higher as luckily ticket holders got the chance to WIN REAL LIFE DEAD artwork,
taxidermy pieces, as well as ORIGINAL ARTWORK including:
THE PSYCHIC SQUIRREL
A squirrel with a glass ball in it's stomach sat on a lightbox, jazz hands and legs akimbo. Stare into his mouth of truth or stomach of psychic abilities. Comes in 3 colours
Other prizes included
Wonky Donkey: Body of a scary old donkey toy with the over sized face of a deer
Mouse with oranges as breasts
Elongated Mouse air freshener
D.I.Y Taxidermy kit including part defrosted mouse
A bride with a very smelly head
An earing and keyring set
The star prize being the animal that we skinned and stuffed on the night.
Yes folks, it's the most disturbing/hilarious and
ultimately twisted raffle of recent times. And this is just the beginning :)
After the prizes I ended the show with another exclusive. Saving the most mad and bad taste till last. . . . Be warned: Again
As you can see from the above- I took it to the next level.
Bringing taxidermy to the stage with a
darkly enthralling insight into the art and mind of an artist. I am an artist, it is technically my job to push boundaries and perceptions, to redefine definitions.
Art has no boundaries and as long as the materials are there, I will push them
and use them to their imaginative potential. The imagination is limitless if
you let it. There is a whole world outside of the box. Outside of your own morals and consciousness. Boundaries are a form of restriction. Go past the boundaries and you
begin to be free. Art is free, an act of discovery. Drawing on what lies beneath normal thinking in an uninhibited way. Intuition is judgement that operates without being available to the conscious. Intuition draws upon subliminal and allows unfiltered, unfamiliar and the unknown to enter our worlds.
I know in these videos I am a woman who has lost the plot. But I have only let my mind take my body and it's stimulas to new and untrodden ground. I am crossing it and I hope to break it.
'Taxidermy
has had a re-invigoration in recent years and the cause of this is
truly, Charlie Tuesday Gates. The eccentric creative who saw roadkill
and thought ‘art!’ can now be watched at work by the curious. The
hypnotic performance will also provide DIY tips for those looking to get
into the practice, and with the potential to eat some of the beast
after' Thrill City
Here is a nice thing someone said:
'You are an old fashioned musical hall entertainer at heart with a thoroughly modern twist! The video
of the lamb slipping out of its skin and crawling off was brilliant. As for Mad Dog ….I’m lost for words!' Random stranger who I met once and came to the show.
'Bejound expectations' A prize winner of the raffel
RTL, a German T.V company came and
recorded the show. They followed me setting up, interviwed me at various stages and genreally asked loads of questions. Little did they know what they were getting themselves in for- and neither did I.
You can watch what they did to me in this video 6 mins in. It's all in German HERE
http://rtl-now.rtl.de/explosiv/explosiv-das-magazin.php?container_id=104077&player=1&season=0
Amusingly it looks like something that could very easily have appeared on Euro Trash back in the day. I'm even wearing a shell suit.
Amusingly it looks like something that could very easily have appeared on Euro Trash back in the day. I'm even wearing a shell suit.
I was throwing the audience pure gold, both real and comedy and in the process looked like a complete nut job. Obviously RTL had an absolute field day in the editing room (God I wish I had been there)
'I HOPE LIGHTENING WILL STRIKE YOUR ARSE!'
'YOU ARE FUCKING SCUM !!'
'PSYCO!'
There is loads of abuse on Facebook but luckily I can't read German. Or care.
An opinion formed of me after 5 mins of out of context rambeling, editied togther to make me look as bad as possible. I have been dubed in German also. Obviously I said way more intelligent stuff than what they are making my words say.
Anyway they completely missed the point. They don't understand where I stand with the animals- and that is ultimately to protect them- Hense being a vegan and trying to live as ethically as possible. I love and respect all life- But I am an artist who has found death.... and I'm not afraid to play with it. Oh how we use and abuse life :( It's cheap, throwaway and ultimately meaningless. Just like the shopping channel. We have become so far removed from what is real it takes a show like this to sensationalize life/death and make people view it in a new way.
People need to learn about stuff to understand it.
Then they can appreciate it on a new level. Through exploration you
begin to ask questions which ultimately lead back to yourself. This show
and my work is a journey of self discovery- and it turns out I'm
actually insane-
NEW SHOW IN SPRINGTIME
Photos from http://maddogtvdinners.wordpress.com/2012/10/31/d-i-y-taxidermy/
and
I took no photo's any photos greatly appreciated.
In other news:
Top 7 U.K Taxidermists by Lifestyle.allwomentalk.com and in the top 5 U.K Taxidermists on Croobal.com which is basically the same list but without David Shrigley.
1:Polly Morgan
2: Jez Eaton
3: ME!
4: Mike Gadd
5: Peter Spicer
6:Walter Potter
7:David Shrigley
AND I'M NOT EVEN A TAXIDERMIST! AMAZING! Or maybe I'm in denial?
No I's definitely not a taxidermists. Taxidermist preserve the illusion of LIFE- I as an artist are interested in exploring the reality of death and our reaction to it.
Love from
Charlie Tuesday Gates
x
Great stuff Charlie.
ReplyDeleteKeep on making people talk, girl, thew world needs artists!
Eduardo