TITLE: Natural History: Ghosts and Monsters

This series of photos attempts to capture the surprising and often bizarre creatures that populate the display cases of museums of natural history. The skulls, skeletons, and stuffed animals, with their frozen horrified stares, remnants of passed exploration and classification, tell us as much about our society and our relationship to nature, as they do about the science. They are the haunting witnesses to an era when nature was strange and frightening, something to be controlled, classified and cataloged.
The photos are presented as portraits and reworked to accentuate the strangeness of these creatures. I have tried to capture the wonder and awe that I experienced as a young child when visiting museums of natural history. I remember these museums as being dark, dusty, and mysterious - their displays seemingly inhabited by creatures from some gothic fairy tale. The ghostly presence of these specimens in my photographs reflects my tenuous memories of these visits.
All photos taken at the Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle, Marseille, France, Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle de Toulouse, and the Museo di Storia Naturale di Venezia, Italy.

AUTHOR: Catherine Marcogliese (France)

Solo Shows :
2017 Whiter than White (Paysages Domestiques), La Villa Tamaris Centre d’Art, La Seyne-sur-Mer
Night Sky, Galerie du Tableau, Marseille
2016 Histoires Naturelles : Spectres et Monstres, Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle de Marseille
2014 Au Bout du Regard, La Villa Tamaris Centre d’Art, La Seyne-sur-Mer
2009 Western Landscapes, Galleria Sangiorgi, Laigueglia, Italie
Arts in Situ, Printemps des Arts, Galerie àcentmètresducentredumonde, Perpignan
2004 Divers chemins à travers le paysage, Galerie Artena, Marseille
2000 Parterres III et IV, Galerie du CAIRN, Réserve Géologique de Haute Provence, Digne-les-Bains, oeuvre permanente sur le Musée Promenade

Group Shows :
2020 Kaleidoscopie, Galerie du Canon, Toulon
Regards Polychromes sur la Ville, Batterie du Cap Nègre, Six Fours les Plages
C’est Votre Choix, Villa Tamaris Centre d’Art
2019 Pré-sélection Prix Polyptyque, Centre Photographique de Marseille
2017 Sauver sa Peau, Galerie Zola, Aix-en-Provence
Nothing Special, L.A. Photo Curator, expo virtual, honourable mention
2016 Une (Re)Présentation, Villa Tamaris Centre d’Art
Haunted, Darkroom Gallery, Essex Junction, Vermont, U.S.A.
The Frontier, THE CENTER, Santa Fe, USA
Festival Focales, Villard de Lans
2015 Territoires & Architecture, Centre Culturel Saint-Raphaël, Conseil General du Var
2012 Paysages Urbains, La Croisée des Arts, Saint-Maximin
Futures Mémoires volet II, Association Perceptions Photographiques, Centre Culturel, Saint Raphaël
Futures Mémoires, volet I, Association Perceptions Photographiques, La Maison de la Photographie, Toulon
Littoral en Mutation, Festival Photo’med, Sanary-sur-Mer
2010 Carte Blanche, Association Perceptions Photographiques, Galerie Vrais Rêves, Lyon
Hôtel du Musée, Galerie Vrais Rêves, Rencontres d’Arles
2004 DIGIT.LAND.SCAPE, MAPRA, Lyon
2003 Paysages Horizontaux, Exposition Art Concept / Sud, Centre ABC, Dijon
2002 Symposium d’Art Contemporain, Baie Saint Paul, Québec, Canada


Public Collections :
Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle de Marseille
New Mexico History Museum, Palace of the Governors, Santa Fe, U.S.A.
Villa Tamaris Centre d’Art
Hôtel des Arts, Conseil Général, Toulon
Reserve Géologique de Digne-les-Bains
Ville de Roquebrune Cap Martin