Melbourne-based artist Julia DeVille displayed strange and beautiful creatures in her exhibit; Night's Plutonian Shore. Julia is known for her masterful blend of two unlikely disciplines: jewellery making and taxidermy. Merging her animals with classic gold- and silver-smithing techniques, her jewellery and her artwork seems veiled in death. Although, when you hear it from her, you're left with a different impression.  “People seem to think my work is about death, but I think it’s more about life and about the celebration of life,” she says. “I like combining creatures with these materials that are seen as precious, because it poses a whole new set of questions about the value and preciousness of life. People don’t put value on a mouse, for example, but what happens if you put diamonds in the mouse’s eyes?” 
Here, she continues her fascination with Greek and Roman mythology and casts various creatures in the role of psychopomps, the animals that would guide spirits down the river Styx to Hades, the Greek god of the underworld. The Charon kitten in the last image wears a saddle to carry souls to the underworld over the River Styx. Lots of different religions and philosophies have various ideas about whether that's a place of judgment but generally the ferrymen (the kittens) are not judgmental. They're just there to guide souls. Isn't it most interesting? ;)

It is said about taxidermy that almost often, the animal shows you what position it wants to go in. These pieces look peaceful, the process to me seems beautifully and delicately done. These pieces offer magical and mythical ways to think about life and death and are a strange and surprising reminder of the wonderment and fragility of our existence. This is definitely eerie inspiration and I understand if most of you never return here.. Sigh.. 
P.S. Memento Mori in Latin means "Remember your mortality" which is something I've been dwelling on a lot. All this sends me into a spiral of introspection on the emptiness and impermanence of wordly pleasures, luxuries and achievements. A lil' out of place on a fashion blog,  you think? ;)