Life, death and desire in George Taylor’s feather artworks

George Taylor has a problem with peacocks. ‘There aren’t any dead ones!’ laughs the British artist, who harvests ethically sourced feathers – from Mexican farms to British Victorian taxidermy collections – before painstakingly weaving them into the most compelling, intricate frays. Coinciding with International Women’s Day 2018 (8 March), 24 of Taylor’s newest works, each more physical, symbol-laden and sensual than the last – are on display at a solo exhibition, ‘Intimate Immensity’, at London’s Pangolin Gallery.
As well as using exotic feathers from far-flung corners, Taylor also scavenges her materials closer to home, from deceased foul on her Gloustershire farm. ‘I grew up here, and am completely at home with farm life, and all its gory bits,’ she explains. ‘Defeathering isn’t an issue for me. In fact, the physicality of plucking and preparing – it’s gorgeous.’
Orisis, 2018, by George Taylor.
Though she often craves the artistic fervour and pulse of the city, Taylor’s English countryside idyll is an almost ritualistic environment in which to make these works, themselves so reliant upon the natural world. ‘Living up against the woodland is an inspiration,’ she explains of the ‘magical space’ she calls home. She sits for hours in her studio (enlisting the help of friends, locals her mother), ‘watching the march hares standing up on their haunches’, preening, plucking, weaving.
It isn’t all therapeutic wiling away the days, however. Feathers are a difficult material to work with. ‘You can't go back into these works; you have to know what it's going to look like from the beginning. And if you make a mistake its there forever.’ A 4ft wide section of work takes around three months to complete. In both their highly physical production methods and the final, mind-bending result there’s an inherent sensuality surrounding the work, which she likens to a sense of ‘Victorian titillation’.
As such, Taylor draws deeply from the writings of the 19th-century thinkers, like French philosopher Gaston Bachelard whose term ‘intimate immensity’ she has borrowed for the exhibition title. Relating to Bachelard’s correlation of a moment of inner stillness with ‘eternal disquiet’ and the continual cycle of life and death, Taylor’s works are at once mesmerisingly still and full of life. There’s a tussle going on, between the wind that once soared through the feathers, and the rigidity with which they are now stuck together, behind glass.
The Beast in Me, 2017, by George Taylor.
This subtle half-step between movement and stillness, life and death, is at the core of the exhibition. Taylor has long been fascinated with the idea of Nirvana reached through the ‘little death’ of sexual orgasm. And recently, she has thrown herself into the work of feminist philosopher Luce Irigaray whose thoughts about how erotic intimacy and proximity could evoke a sacred stillness play out within Taylor’s monumental work The Beast in Me (2017). At 7ft tall, shifting tonally from black to green, and made from the glistening feathers of the cockerel and crow, it marries Taylor’s interests in the sinister and the sensual with finality.
Themes of overpowering closeness, high-eroticism and the symbolism of feathers, are further explored in a new film, Innocent Potency, which is being screened for the first time at the exhibition. With a visual punch, it interweaves imagery of an innocent – but sexually charged – pillow fight with raw imagery of Cuban cockfighting rituals.
On first impression, the works are beautifully crafted, fragile objects; feminine even. They make use of colour, shape and tone, like she’s painting with feathers. They’re also fierce and uncompromising; laden with months of labour, a library of symbolism, and a history of ritual. Even under their glass frames, they fly.
Insomnia In Red, 2018, by George Taylor.
INFORMATION
‘George Taylor: Intimate immensity’ is on view until 14 April. For more information, visit the Pangolin London website
ADDRESS
Pangolin London
Kings Place
90 York Way
London N1 9AG
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Elly Parsons is the Digital Editor of Wallpaper*, where she oversees Wallpaper.com and its social platforms. She has been with the brand since 2015 in various roles, spending time as digital writer – specialising in art, technology and contemporary culture – and as deputy digital editor. She was shortlisted for a PPA Award in 2017, has written extensively for many publications, and has contributed to three books. She is a guest lecturer in digital journalism at Goldsmiths University, London, where she also holds a masters degree in creative writing. Now, her main areas of expertise include content strategy, audience engagement, and social media.
-
A contemporary Swiss chalet combines tradition and modernity, all with a breathtaking view
A modern take on the classic chalet in Switzerland, designed by Montalba Architects, mixes local craft with classic midcentury pieces in a refined design inside and out
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Cartier dials up the glamour at Watches and Wonders 2025
Cartier revamps much-loved watch collections, from Privé and Panthère to Tank and Tressage, upping the sparkle at the watch fair in Geneva
By Thor Svaboe Published
-
Patek Philippe brings 15 new timepieces to Watches and Wonders 2025
The Swiss manufacturer showcases its intricate complications and elegant designs at the annual trade show with a suite of new models
By Anna Solomon Published
-
Tom Wesselmann’s 'Up Close' and the anatomy of desire
In a new exhibition currently on show at Almine Rech in London, Tom Wesselmann challenges the limits of figurative painting
By Sam Moore Published
-
A major Frida Kahlo exhibition is coming to the Tate Modern next year
Tate’s 2026 programme includes 'Frida: The Making of an Icon', which will trace the professional and personal life of countercultural figurehead Frida Kahlo
By Anna Solomon Published
-
A portrait of the artist: Sotheby’s puts Grayson Perry in the spotlight
For more than a decade, photographer Richard Ansett has made Grayson Perry his muse. Now Sotheby’s is staging a selling exhibition of their work
By Hannah Silver Published
-
From counter-culture to Northern Soul, these photos chart an intimate history of working-class Britain
‘After the End of History: British Working Class Photography 1989 – 2024’ is at Edinburgh gallery Stills
By Tianna Williams Published
-
Celia Paul's colony of ghostly apparitions haunts Victoria Miro
Eerie and elegiac new London exhibition ‘Celia Paul: Colony of Ghosts’ is on show at Victoria Miro until 17 April
By Hannah Hutchings-Georgiou Published
-
Teresa Pągowska's dreamy interpretations of the female form are in London for the first time
‘Shadow Self’ in Thaddaeus Ropac’s 18th-century townhouse gallery in London, presents the first UK solo exhibition of Pągowska’s work
By Sofia Hallström Published
-
Sylvie Fleury's work in dialogue with Matisse makes for a provocative exploration of the female form
'Drawing on Matisse, An Exhibition by Sylvie Fleury’ is on show until 2 May at Luxembourg + Co
By Hannah Silver Published
-
What to see at BFI Flare film festival, 'a rich tapestry of queer experience'
As one of the only film festivals to explicitly profile LGBTQI+ cinema, BFI Flare Film Festival remains a unique and beloved event. Here's what to see as it makes its return to London from 19 - 30 March
By Billie Walker Published