Great white bear: nanoq: flat out and bluesome

• Main Authors: Snaebjornsdottir, Bryndis, Wilson, Mark
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2009
• Subjects: 001 Knowledge; 570 Life sciences; 700 ARTS & RECREATION (collections; philosophy & education); Arctic; nanoq
• Online Access: http://insight.cumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/1269/; http://www.worcestercitymuseums.org.uk/mag/magpex/great-white-bear/great-white-bear.htm

This exhibition is the story of the polar bears journey from the arctic wilderness to the museums and stately homes of Britain. Between 2002 and 2004, artists Bryndís Snæbjörnsdóttir and Mark Wilson undertook a survey of all the taxidermied polar bears in the UK, in a project called nanoq: flat out and bluesome. Thirty-three stuffed polar bears were traced and photographed in situ, including the baby bear at Worcester City Museum & Art Gallery. The project and exhibition documents the histories of each bear – its place of capture or shooting, the name of the person responsible, the nature or purpose of the expedition, the bear’s history in captivity, its age at death – and visitors are invited to think about the current plight of polar bears who are facing extinction because of the destruction of their habitat.