Sarina Brewer

To form her own movement and break off from conventional taxidermy and its traditions, Brewer and two colleagues coined the term Rogue Taxidermy. In 2004, Brewer and two fellow Minneapolis artists established The Minnesota Association of Rogue Taxidermists (MART), an international collective of artists who use taxidermy-related materials (both organic and synthetic) as the common thread to unite their respective styles of mixed-media sculpture. The work of Brewer and the other founders of MART dramatically changed the way taxidermy materials are used. The pioneering work of Brewer and her fellow co-founders gained worldwide attention in 2005 after they appeared on the front page of the New York Times art section following their inaugural gallery exhibition. The article featured Brewer's taxidermy sculpture titled Goth Griffin. Positive response from other artists following the exhibition led to the formation of the collective. Public interest in the genre gave rise to an art movement. Taxidermy art (a term used interchangeably with Rogue Taxidermy) is a trend that started in Minnesota with the work of Brewer and fellow MART co-founders and now has an international following. An influx of people working within the genre has led to a taxidermy revival in recent years.

Brewer was born in 1970. Brewer's parents, also artists, raised her in an environment centered around wildlife and family pets. Her art arose from an interest in biology and nature. She studied at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD), earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1993. During her formative years at MCAD she worked primarily with found objects, most of which were mummified animal remains. Her early works were shrines to the animals they incorporated and often involved the gold leafing of animal mummies, a technique still utilized in her current body of work. Her work with the remains of animals evolved into taxidermy over the years and she is self-taught in this realm. She states her work is an extension of her childhood belief in reincarnation and that her taxidermy sculptures serve as symbolic bodies for transmigrating animal spirits. She describes the art she has created throughout her career as an hommage to the animals she uses. Brewer is a conservationist and former wildlife rehabilitator who volunteered in the biology department at the Science Museum of Minnesota for over a decade.