“Xerxes” Cape Buffalo Sculpture.

As I have matured in my creative career; I’ve noticed that the visceral and temporary nature of advertising and branding has given way to craving tangible and physical expressions of ideas. I have a habit of willing things into existence.

For tens of thousands of years of human existence, big game have adorned the dwellings of our human ancestors. My animal sculptures serve as physical Totems intruding into the spaces of our contemporary lives, as a unmissable reminder of who we are as a species.

Xerxes is a follow up to my first piece, Achilles and is comprised of over 30k individual dog tags (go ahead, count’ em!), requiring over 18 months of intense, often painstaking labor to create his impeccable coat of armor. He’ll soon be on display at Compass Real Estate’s Bellingham office gallery (reach out to them for visiting hours). Xerxes’ dog tags were donated by adventure travel gear manufacturer Red Oxx, based in Billings, MT. The initial structure of the mount was supplied by Fidalgo Taxidermy in Anacortes, WA. and is made of entirely synthetic materials.

The cape buffalo is not to be confused with the docile, domesticated Asian water buffalo. Measuring up to 6’ at the shoulder and weighing up to 2,200 pounds, they are possessed of a grouchy temperament suitable for dealing with the neighborhood Hyenas, Lions, Leopards and Crocodiles. Sometimes referred to as “The Black Death”, they are feared for their awesome power, deceptive agility and deft ability to charge at speeds up to 40mph, often without any warning.

The adult African cape buffalo's horns are its defining, iconic physical feature: they have fused bases, forming a continuous bone shield across the top of the head referred to as a "boss". It is widely regarded as one of the most dangerous animals on the African continent, and according to some estimates it gores, tramples, and kills over 200 people every year.

Meet “Achilles”, The Armor Plated Knight Elk

The idea for an armor plated elk occurred to me about ten years before I found an opportunity to bring it to life, or in this case; back to life.

While working on interior concepts and fixtures for Lazarus Brewing, I brought up the idea to my brother Christian, the CEO. We decided to "borrow" one of our dad's old elk racks that he had hunted in the Beartooth Mountains of Montana, and was now hanging above the garage entry way at his cabin in said mountains. 

With an enthusiastic "YES!", we set about trying to pull something off in time for the brewery opening just four weeks away. It just so happens that another client, Red Oxx, uses dog tags for luggage hang tags. They had an enormous stash of dog tags that had been discarded due to small errors or price changes over the years. We partnered with a True Life Taxidermy in Laurel, Montana to prep the antlers and the foam mount, and then ship them us. From there the project took over my production studio, and consumed just under 20,000 tags and over 250 hours of manual labor between myself, and Christi Naler who had flown in from the bay area to help me execute the behemoth task (pun of the day, hurray!).