Michael McConnell at Braunstein/Quay

The work in Michael McConnell's recent show at Braunstein/Quay Gallery seems to continue his exploration of childhood innocence, even while treading on typically grown-up ground. Walking through the show, I thought about his non-traditional use of taxidermy forms, the plastic structures over which animal skins are stretched. These forms were not used to celebrate a violent conquest of a life taken in sport, but felt playful. This is an even stranger effect given that all the animals were bound in some way -- tied to trees, branches or stakes in the ground -- which provided the theme and title of the show, "Tethered." While not completely free from thoughts about mankind's transgressions against the wilderness and its animal inhabitants, this work somehow also made me think about animals in my childhood stories, animals of myth and folly that were more like us than any real wild animal. 

You can see more of Michael McConnell's work on his website.