shauna richardson's crochetdermy animals exhibit at design days dubai

shauna richardson’s crochetdermy animals exhibit at design days dubai
(above) ‘prince harry trophy’
images courtesy of the artist

designboom is attending design days dubai 2015, the leading fair in the middle east and south asia dedicated to collectible and limited edition furniture and design objects, specially curated installations, live performances and workshops. among this year’s exhibitors is crafts council, which presents a piece from the handmade sculptural series of artist shauna richardson. the UK-based creator has developed a technique using crochet to sculpt realistic life-size animals she has coined ‘crochetdermy’. using materials like coarse wools, mohair mixes, glass eyes, and reproduction claws, richardson painstakingly renders the anatomical features of baboons, lionesses, hares and bears. autonomously working over a period of months, the artist clearly links the craft of taxidermy with crochet, marrying two creative methodologies and modes of preservation. 

‘my work is entirely hands-on’ richardson describes. ‘I use the traditional craft of crochet in a not so traditional way and have developed my own freestyle technique which I use to respond to, and highlight, the anatomy of each piece asIi go along. no two pieces are ever the same. it is meticulous work, typically using mohair yarn and a 3mm hook.’

‘lioness’

face of ‘lioness’
image © designboom

‘lioness’ detail 
image © designboom

   
‘baboon trophy’

‘bear’

‘bear’ detail

‘BOJO detail’     
‘baboon’

‘wild boar trophy’
‘hares’

 
‘warthog’

‘wild cat’

portrait of shauna richardson and ‘lioness’ at design days dubai 
image © designboom