Botanical Mum 2, 2011
Jennifer Trask
Botanical Mum 2, 2011
Rattlesnake ribs, antler, carved cow bone, 18th century frame fragments, gold leaf
Jennifer Trask engages nature as both medium and subject, crafting intricate sculptures that merge unexpected materials—bone, vertebrae, butterfly wings, resin, metal, and antique frame fragments. Ranging from intimate jewelry to large-scale works, her pieces reflect a lifelong fascination with biology, archaeology, and anthropology. Her lavish compositions celebrate the splendor of the natural world while exploring the tension between the wild and the domesticated, evoking the rich visual language of 17th-century Dutch vanitas paintings and Victorian curiosity cabinets.
Animal remains—antlers, horn, teeth, tusks, and bone—feature prominently in Trask’s work, transformed into radiant, organic forms that bloom with vitality, evoking cycles of death, transformation, and rebirth. At first glance, her pieces captivate with their elegance, but closer inspection reveals layers of intricacy: antlers woven seamlessly into sculptural forms, snake vertebrae forming delicate flower petals, and bones sourced from giraffes, chickens, cows, and camels integrated into compositions that challenge perceptions of life and decay.
“Bones are not morbid to me; they represent a life lived,” Trask explains. “There is history in the remnants of a plant or animal.”
