Challenging Trophies? Artistic and Curatorial Approaches to Displaying Hunting Trophies in a Time of Mass Extinction

This essay examines a specific strand of artistic and curatorial activity in which hunting trophies are being reconfigured in artworks, exhibitions and museum display to respond to the anthropogenic threats facing wildlife. These practices are argued to provide dynamic and generative ways to engage audiences with these issues now and in the future. First, I examine how the form of the hunting trophy is being reappropriated by contemporary artists in ethical ways through recycling historical taxidermy or through the fabrication of surrogate hunting trophies using substitute materials. Next, I discuss the ways hunting collections are being reinterpreted to communicate about the human exploitation of wildlife at a time of mass extinction. Finally, I reveal how hunting museums have been reorientated towards 21st century wildlife conservation concerns. This essay argues that hunting trophies are being resurrected in ecological ways through contemporary artistic and curatorial practices to explore these current Anthropocenic times.