A vivid imagination

One of the reasons I love living where I do is that there is a vibrant scene of artisans and independent shops. One of these is the Union Gallery on Broughton Street where they feature different artists. Forming a centre-piece of the winter exhibition is a work of art called High Tea by Samantha Boyes. For any passer by walking down the busy street, a glance through the window of the gallery takes you into a different world, a mix of Alice in Wonderland and Tim Burton.

Alison from the gallery, gave me the following description of the work. I hope that Samantha reads this to find that whilst I was in the gallery there were many people popping in and out and all were staring in wonder and appreciation at such a fantastic piece of art and it encourages her to do more.

‘High Tea’ by Samantha Boyes.

Samantha is an Edinburgh based artist working from her studio in Morningside.

She rarely exhibits her work as she is nervous of the response it gets.

Samantha does not kill any animals. They are mainly road kill. The Puffins in ‘High Tea’ were washed up on the beach. They are juveniles which starved to death as a result of dramatic changes in weather patterns.

The young female sparrow hawk in the teacup died after flying into a friend’s window. (A special licence was required to use the specimen as she is a protected bird of prey).

She has a degree in fine art and studied sculpture and kinetic sculpture. She has also worked as a stone mason. She took up taxidermy 5 years ago taking initial training from the highly respected taxidermist George Jamieson.

It has taken some time to develop, but finally she has combined her sculpture with her skills as a taxidermist.

Many of the cakes you see are made from plaster, foam and polly filla.

‘High Tea’ took 3 years to make. It takes a long time to build up a collection of animals and Samantha sourced everything from the cutlery to cups, saucers and silver wear.

Every animal and insect you see on the table is by law recorded and documented. There may be a playful element to Samantha’s work, but the business of taxidermy is heavily regulated. As it should be.

Samantha probably knows more than most about animals and wild life, it is essential to have an in depth knowledge and respect for your subjects as a taxidermist.