Australian writer Marise Williams' essay "Mourning Half Begun" begins with "I'm thinking of having my cat stuffed when she dies,"† proceeds through Barthes, Sontag and the OED and arrives at the taxidermy work of artist Julia deVille.
Melbourne-based artist, jeweller and taxidermist, Julia deVille keeps the memento mori motif alive. Her disce mori motto, 'learn to die', inspires her fascination with the dead, the skulls, bones and skin of once living animals and birds, as ornamental keepsakes, mourning jewellery and fashion accessories. Her leatherwork in gloves, spats and boots reminds us that our everyday shoes and handbags are also treated animal carcasses, no different to a skunk stole or fox tail belt. While this preoccupation with animal pelts as decorative pieces, taxidermy as art materials and jewellery, may seem a paradox for a committed vegetarian, there is an ethical confluence in her practice. DeVille's work honours the animal and its death no matter how insignificant.
Guardian video: Julia de Ville's Phantasmagoria at Adelaide Biennial 2014
i-D interview: "death and holograms: inside the world of julia deville"
Sophie Gannon Gallery
Jan Murphy Gallery
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†As an in memoriam postscript to "Mourning Half Begun," Mitzy, whose real name was Ella, passed away in November 2012. She was cremated, not stuffed. Ella's ashes are kept in a gold, heart-shaped urn on the mantelpiece.