Nathalia Edenmont is a 30-year-old Russian artist who has been bashed by literally everyone for the crime of making of art with dead bunnies. She gets hate mail from militant vegans, Nazis, and even regular people who say things like: “That’s not art!” And all she does is take really cutesy photos of dead rabbits. Big whup.
Vice: So I’m guessing you aren’t a vegetarian?
Nathalia: I was a housewife for years, and the only thing I ever did was cook. So no, I’m not a vegetarian. I love salad with tofu, but I love lobster even more. I used to cut up animals all the time when I was a housewife, so why not do it for my art? And I always use perishables — it’s not just fresh, but alive. And I’ll only use the heads and the eyes. That’s actually the only part I’ll do all on my own, I’ll have assistants helping me with everything else.
Where do you get your materials?
I buy rabbits from a farm. The animals there are a bit deformed since they’re all just going to be transported to a factory where they will be made into restaurant food. If you look at the eyes that I’m using you can see that they’re misshapen.
Why the fascination with rabbits?
I’m Russian, and in Russia wearing fur is a birthright. If you can’t afford mink, you get rabbit. When I was a kid I thought it was fun to play with my pet bunny rabbit, and at the same time I liked my rabbit hat. I thought they were equally cute.
What are your favorite animals?
Dogs and horses. I own a spider and snakes too.
BJORN BJORK
Nathalia is represented by Wetterling Gallery in Sweden, www.wetterlinggallery.com.
