One of the best museums in the WORLD!

This is the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford, a hidden gem at the back of the Natural History Museum and a trove full of the most delicious treasures that have really inspired my work over the past few years...It is hard not to stare in wonderment at the artifacts brought back from all over the world by the explorer and archeologist Lt. General Pitt Rivers. This was a personal collection that he gave to the University in 1884 on the conditions that it was used to teach anthropology..It is filled with the most obscure objects that depict life all over the world, especially in what seems to be remote and exotic unheard-of cultures. From tribal shrunken heads to tiny Japanese shoes worn when binding feet to a wealth of unusual weapons it has something for everyone to pore over...


This is a necklace made from little blue beetles bodies, absolutely beautiful and so intricate, it was hard to get a picture as it is so tiny!


I just love the way everything is displayed in these framed boxes, each with hand written labels. This categorising and compartmentalising really influences my work.


There are jars filled with formaldehyde and pickled animals parts..a bit distastful to most but i couldn't stop looking!


There are lots of tribal necklaces made from materials such as teeth, horn and bone. I like this use of natural material to adorn the body, it is common practice to be resourceful in remote communities but this has been lost in British society today. We are so use to draining exotic materials. It may seem common practice today to recycle and make necklaces out of old plastic cups, paper or fabric but this could be taken further, maybe using up less initially obviously wearable waste, for example re-using lab equipment, preserving dead plants or animals..hmm I wish I could afford a taxidermy course!


This is an Inuit suit made from (I am attempting to remember) seal stomach lining I believe..or other such stomach lining..It was quite disgusting but quite beautiful at the same time and I am sure very practical in those climes.(Note-over 150 years old, animal protection laws not yet enforced!!!)