Julius von Bismarck Zwei Wölfinnen (Im Wolfspelz), 2024

With its muscular body and rough coat, Zwei Wölfinnen (Im Wolfspelz) at first looks like a fierce wolf standing on a rounded pedestal. Then the illusion breaks—as with all taxidermied animals on closer inspection—when we see the large-scale figures collapse and reconfigure, revealing the elaborate construction that enables their continuous movement. Made from an animal skin drawn over a shape approximating a pose we may think of as typical, the taxidermied “animal” is a fantasy.

A further development of Bismarck's series of monumental collapsing sculptures presented in the artist's solo exhibition at the Berlinische Galerie in 2023, the new works emulate the mechanism of hand-held push-puppet toys with miniature animals. Yet, the collapse of the animal’s body into sections—and with it the dissolution of the initial illusion of the animal sculptures’ intactness—brings with it a heady mix of power, curiosity and, as with many contemporary encounters with animals, pity and perhaps shame.

The format of Julius von Bismarck’s sculptures—their echoing the toy’s construction, anti-naturalistic awkward motions, and even the characteristic round base as plinth—has an anti-heroic effect: the imposing figures’ continuous collapse is a choreographed study in powerlessness.