Samantha Dennis – 'Anatomy Lessons II' (Toad), 2024

The works in the Anatomy Lessons series portray the dissected corpses of unfamiliar or undesirable animals, a rat, a toad, and a pigeon. They are rendered in materials which embody “preciousness”; porcelain is sculpted for the bodies with abdomens open to reveal a bronze-lined cavity filled with jewellery for organs, alluring heirloom item such as charms, lockets, and rings. The conceptual approach developed from an interest in the transformative power of “specimen logic”, museological methods of decontextualisation and display which affect the way an animal is looked at and thought about, and how this might be combined with the semiotics of jewellery. 

In Anatomy Lessons, the animal bodies are rendered true to form, clearly legible as their species, however the internal organs are not so strictly representative.  By anthropomorphising the organs, the relationship between body, action, and intention becomes more accessible. In the toad, the intestines are represented by a faux-pearl necklace (found and altered) and the charms are separate and large in size, with a hook to hang as “enhancers” (a pendant-like costume jewellery element which attaches to string of pearls). The lungs, heart, and kidneys of the toad open as lockets-like vessels, with visible hinges and clasps acting as a point of temptation to explore.

When exhibited, the Anatomy Lesson pieces are displayed on a tray with a set of medical-like tools at the ready, implying the immanent or interrupted “dissection”. This set up conjures the push and pull of seduction and disgust that can be encountered in the dissected animal, evoking feelings of morbid curiosity. The trays and “tools” will be supplied with the objects.

Exhibition history:

Anatomy Lesson I was shown in the exhibition Strange Nature at the Queen Victoria Museum & Art Gallery in Launceston Tasmania, curated by Dr Ashley Brid, from late 2023 to early 2024.

Anatomy Lesson I and Anatomy Lesson II were shown together in the exhibition The Poetic Specimen at the Queen Victoria Museum & Art Gallery in Launceston Tasmania – this exhibition was a component of my PhD examination, and though it was open to the public it was not part of the official exhibition program of the museum. 

Anatomy Lesson I, Anatomy Lesson II & Anatomy Lesson III were shown as a triptych in the Rigg Design Prize Exhibition at the NGV from September 2025 to February 2026.

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