The Canary Suicides are meditations on captivity, miniature embodiment, the pet as fetish, and the relationship between death and delight. They are influenced by the medieval reliquary; the work of Rauschenberg, Kienholz, and the mice who’ve made tiny, perfect replicas of some of their most well-known assemblages; and the artist’s mother and grandmother, who bred and kept many healthy, self-actualized canaries trained in calligraphy, origami, algebra, and bridge.

Each Canary Suicide contains money, a suicide note, a pet owned by the resident canary, and unique surprises. Commissions are available. Please email to discuss ideas and prices.

Catherine Coan is an artist, hybrid taxidermist, writer, and professor living in Los Angeles, California. She was a judge on AMC’s Immortalized, a competitive taxidermy television program. She is good friends with a blind Chihuahua named Lucy.

Her hybrid taxidermy, collages, dioramas, and a few of the most recent canaries shown here can be seen at www.catherinecoan.com.

Please note: NO CANARIES ARE KILLED for these pieces. The birds used in this work die of natural causes in the care of a reputable breeder. Their use is legal and humane.