Drawing Circus Photo-set: The Booth Museum (Patreon)

In 2015 John Cooper, the Keeper of the Natural Sciences at the Booth Museum, invited the Drawing Circus to take over Brighton's beloved museum of natural history. It was John's final event before his retirement and won 'Best Event in a Museum'  at the Big Draw's annual awards - the cash prize went towards paying the taxidermist to stuff the cheetah which now sits mid-prowl in the right-hand corridor of the glass bird cases. The museum houses the taxidermy collection of the eccentric victorian naturalist Edward Booth - floor to ceiling cabinets of stuffed birds posed in narrative dioramas orbiting around a central recreation of Booth's study. Towards the back of its long central gallery it houses a glass corridor of skeletons and a small geology gallery. 

We decided that our take-over should bring the cabinets to life - Drawing Circus co-founder and costumier Emma devised a series of bird costumes and reprised the bear and white tiger of the previous autumn's Grand Drawing Circus to create a menagerie of models who would  pose in situ amongst their stuffed counter parts. Emma herself posed as the 'mermaid' on Booth's gun boat - a taxidermic fantasy of fish and monkey. We even created gem-stone outfits for the models posing in the geology gallery. In the centre of the museum we built our own display case from our  2010 cabinet of curiosity frame and I played the part of Mr. Booth while the Drawchestra serenaded us from the sitting room. Felix had written two songs about the eponymous naturalist, including a Disney-esque ballad about his well documented desire to shoot one of every bird in Britain. Photos and mini-video by Nicolas Brakespere & Mary Martin

Thanks so much for all of your support,

Jake 

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