The only thing not anatomically correct about these bears is their 22-inch height; besides that, artist Deborah Simon’s polymer clay, faux fur, linen, embroidery floss, acrylic paint, glass, wire, and foam bears are scarily true to form. Her series Flayed Bears (spotted via Beautiful/Decay) is like the rest of her work: part taxidermy, part toy, and part sculpture. Describing her pieces, Simon says, “Evolution has always held a particular fascination for me, informing how I create and group the animals in my work. As I’ve read and dug through museum collections to research my pieces, western science’s mania for labeling, codifying and collecting has stood out. Most of this categorizing bears little resemblance to how animals and plants exist out in the natural world and I find this disconnect fascinating.” How close would you be willing to get?
Image credit: Deborah Simon
Image credit: Deborah Simon
Image credit: Deborah Simon
Image credit: Deborah Simon
Image credit: Deborah Simon
Image credit: Deborah Simon
Image credit: Deborah Simon
Image credit: Deborah Simon
Image credit: Deborah Simon
Image credit: Deborah Simon
Image credit: Deborah Simon
Image credit: Deborah Simon