A Dead Deer 1986

Jimmie Durham made this striking sculpture, A Dead Deer, out of natural materials, mostly wood, and some acrylic paint. I love how the textures of the tree branches are so present, you can almost feel the bark. The body of the deer is a roughly hewn length of grey branch, and the front legs are simply another small branch attached to it. Durham’s touches of bright orange and pink acrylic give it such a playful and unsettling quality, like a cartoon character that's walked into a dark fairytale. The deer’s head, painted in bright colours, has an open mouth which is slightly unnerving. It reminds me of some of the folk art I’ve seen, where the materials themselves speak just as loudly as the artist's hand. There’s a real conversation happening here, between Durham and the natural world. Art like this reminds us that meaning isn’t fixed, it’s something we create together, through looking and thinking.