No Dead Heads

Texas is an interesting place. I can be walking out of a camera store with a camera around my neck, but if someone ever hears me utter anything about SHOOTING WILD ANIMALS in Africa, they invariably assume I mean with a gun.

This leads to awkward interactions with strangers where — often to their glaring disappointment — I have to pause and state seemingly obvious things like, “No, I wasn’t shooting the BABY ELEPHANTS from my helicopter with a machine gun from above, it’s disturbing you got so excited when you thought that was the case."

“Man, can you imagine?! That would be such an awesome bloodbath!”

No. No it wouldn’t, and I don’t have to imagine it, because I have seen firsthand the devastation that poaching and illegal wild game hunting can reek on African communities.

I therefore made the decision long ago to use only artificial wild animals on the walls of my home and NO TAXIDERMY whatsoever, no matter how legally or honorably they were purportedly obtained.

Kudus to Me

Debating the righteousness of using taxidermy would be a non issue if it weren’t for the fact that, despite myself, from a design prerogative, I happen to really like the use of wild animal heads on walls. I can’t help it — they evoke HEMINGWAY AND AFRICAN HUNTING LODGES and can sometimes suggest a sense of historical context and tradition better than any mounted photograph.

Here in the guest bedroom, my twist on classic New Mexican design somewhat hinged on replacing the quintessential COW SKULLS of the American Southwest with the distinctively twisted horns of the African kudu skull and dramatic GEMSBOK.

Therefore, my hunt yet again happened without any weapons or killing, and instead became a hunt focused on locating artificial gemsbok and KUDU SKULLS with the utmost degree of realism.

Without taking them down, I dare anyone to spot the difference. Besides, if you’re taking things down off my walls, you probably need to leave anyways!