Keepsake by Erin Brodwin
Divya Anantharaman cuts open the box, removes its contents, and gingerly unwraps each piece. She stretches white latex gloves over each hand, and on a plastic cutting board bedazzled with disney princesses, sets a gleaming silver knife. Anantharaman is a self-proclaimed rogue taxidermist. She transforms animals who’ve died naturally into art by decorating their preserved carcasses with beads, flowers and sparkly sequins. “It’s how I connect with nature, and how I come to terms with mortality,” Anantharaman says.
