My work walks the line between taxidermy, toy and sculpture. It’s influenced by my work in veterinary clinics and at the Bronx Zoo, observing how people relate to animals, and how animals are presented for public consumption. I research each animal, watching their behavior towards people and each other. The zoo provides a unique opportunity to observe animals and how they are affected by the situation they live in. Their behavior is adapted to situations that are not natural to them and in turn this effects how people see and interpret them. Most representations of animals found in nature shows, museums and zoos are created by and for people and are inherently inaccurate in their attempts to depict nature. By showing them in the bare whiteness of a gallery, I strip away the illusion of animals in their “natural” environment, acknowledging that they are contained in a box of our devising, at our pleasure and convenience.