Rosie – Mammoth Skeleton

When Dr. Piccini retrieved the mammoth remains from a museum in Lithuania, he recognized more than a specimen to study and place in a museum, but a lifetime preserved full of its own vital presence.
Although one might associate fossils with death and inevitable decomposition, this piece reimagines our relationship with fossils. Restored in Italy at Geoworld, the mammoth was mounted on a steel structure plated in rose gold. The rose gold endows her with a sense of flesh and vitality, renewing her strength and feminine energy. Fully restored to her prior glory, she was christened “Rosie”, a name that resonates with love, beauty, strength, courage, and determination – a name befitting a beast returned to life 50,000 years later. Observing our reflection in the structure, we can contemplate our own mortality and legacy. As the cumulation of art, history, and science, Rosie becomes both our past and future.