I can see today that the same sort of issues lie behind taxidermy and photography. Taxidermy consists in preserving a bird in full flight... In the same way, photography halts and freezes motion and life.
Annette MessagerI never take a picture of a face because a face is somebody, an arm is not recognizable as somebody. When you take a photograph of someone's face, it identifies it as somebody, but if you take just a fragment, it's everybody. It's not one person.
Annette MessagerAt first, I felt proud when someone said 'Your work looks like a man did it.' Then I realized that was stupid
Annette MessagerBeing an artist means forever healing your own wounds and at the same time endlessly exposing them.
Annette Messager[My work] includes something about death, and about love, because the photos always have something to do with death. The photograph is like taxidermy. It is like the animals I use. They are posed in order to appear to be alive, but they are dead. Their time has passed. The photos have to do with time and loss, and conclusion.
Annette Messager