Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Art Student Dresses Up Roadkill

"EDWARDSVILLE --The next time you drive by a dead animal on the side of the road, take a closer look. It might just be wearing a purple dress, a green vest or have its "nails" painted.

About three weeks ago, Jessica May, who just completed her first year of graduate studies in the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville art and design program, started dressing roadkill in pet and baby clothes to catch people's attention near campus.

The 24-year-old from West Lafayette, Ind., said the idea stemmed from a year's worth of work dealing with nature. She said she was interested to see whether people would give more thought to the "wild animals" if they were personified by being dressed in human attire, such as a Polo from Baby Gap.

Although she has dressed, and given some manicures, to three raccoons and three possums, she said she is not trying to make a political statement: "I'm not trying to be any sort of militant activist for animals' rights or anything like that..."

More at bnd.com

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