Extinct Animals (Thylacine), 2018
Plaster of Paris, cast from the artist's hands whilst performing the extinct animal's shadow
27 x 15 x 20 cm
10 5/8 x 5 7/8 x 7 7/8 in
10 5/8 x 5 7/8 x 7 7/8 in
MC0236
Copyright The Artist
This sculpture is an individual and unique artwork. This pose has also been re-performed and cast as a contributing part of a full set of 16, which has been designated...
This sculpture is an individual and unique artwork. This pose has also been re-performed and cast as a contributing part of a full set of 16, which has been designated by the artist to be a separate and unique artwork.
The collection of cast hands depicts different animal species whose extinctions were caused by humans. The artist has cast his own hands in poses that playfully recreate an approximation of the animal in shadow. They are a memorial but also remnants of a detached and futile resurrection.
The Thylacine (Thylacinus Cynocephalus) was the largest known carnivorous marsupial of modern times. It is commonly known as the Tasmanian Tiger (because of its striped lower back) or the Tasmanian Wolf. Native to continental Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea, it is believed to have become extinct in the 20th century. Surviving evidence suggests that it was a relatively shy, nocturnal creature with the general appearance of a medium-to-large-size dog, except for its stiff tail and abdominal pouch (reminiscent of a kangaroo) and dark transverse stripes that radiated from the top of its back, similar to those of a Tiger. The Thylacine was an apex predator, like the tigers and wolves of the Northern Hemisphere from which it obtained two of its common names. As a marsupial, it was not closely related to these placental mammals, but because of convergent evolution it displayed the same general form and adaptations. Its closest living relative is thought to be either the Tasmanian Devil or the Numbat. The Thylacine was one of only two marsupials to have a pouch in both sexes (the other being the water opossum). The male Thylacine had a pouch that acted as a protective sheath, covering his external reproductive organs while he ran through thick brush. The Thylacine has been described as a formidable predator because of its ability to survive and hunt prey in extremely sparsely populated areas.
The thylacine had become extremely rare or extinct on the Australian mainland before British settlement of the continent, but it survived on the island of Tasmania along with several other endemic species, including the Tasmanian Devil. Intensive hunting encouraged by bounties is generally blamed for its extinction, but other contributing factors may have been disease, the introduction of dogs, and human encroachment into its habitat.
The collection of cast hands depicts different animal species whose extinctions were caused by humans. The artist has cast his own hands in poses that playfully recreate an approximation of the animal in shadow. They are a memorial but also remnants of a detached and futile resurrection.
The Thylacine (Thylacinus Cynocephalus) was the largest known carnivorous marsupial of modern times. It is commonly known as the Tasmanian Tiger (because of its striped lower back) or the Tasmanian Wolf. Native to continental Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea, it is believed to have become extinct in the 20th century. Surviving evidence suggests that it was a relatively shy, nocturnal creature with the general appearance of a medium-to-large-size dog, except for its stiff tail and abdominal pouch (reminiscent of a kangaroo) and dark transverse stripes that radiated from the top of its back, similar to those of a Tiger. The Thylacine was an apex predator, like the tigers and wolves of the Northern Hemisphere from which it obtained two of its common names. As a marsupial, it was not closely related to these placental mammals, but because of convergent evolution it displayed the same general form and adaptations. Its closest living relative is thought to be either the Tasmanian Devil or the Numbat. The Thylacine was one of only two marsupials to have a pouch in both sexes (the other being the water opossum). The male Thylacine had a pouch that acted as a protective sheath, covering his external reproductive organs while he ran through thick brush. The Thylacine has been described as a formidable predator because of its ability to survive and hunt prey in extremely sparsely populated areas.
The thylacine had become extremely rare or extinct on the Australian mainland before British settlement of the continent, but it survived on the island of Tasmania along with several other endemic species, including the Tasmanian Devil. Intensive hunting encouraged by bounties is generally blamed for its extinction, but other contributing factors may have been disease, the introduction of dogs, and human encroachment into its habitat.
