Lisa Merida-Paytes

Tripe
Raku
18 x 26 x 39 in.

My father’s taxidermist/slaughterhouse business was an overwhelming environment with powerful images of hanging carcasses of deer, piles of sawed off animal feet and freezers full of animal hides. These images presented a lack of empathy for life to me as a child.

My work is concerned with the wonder of origin and the disparity of conservation through the destruction and exploitation of our environment. My father’s vocation was straightforward; permanent displays that are frozen in time. My objective is to conjure the past, present and future in order to invoke the contemplation of our existence.

© Lisa Merida-Paytes