Anthropomorphic Mouse Taxidermy Class

There’s no sign of last year’s enthusiasm for stuffing the bejesus out of dead things abating in 2014. If dressing a deceased mouse in leathers and arranging it on a miniature motorbike, say, sounds right up your street, you’re in luck. This year Margot Magpie, who has been teaching consistently sold-out classes reviving the popular Victorian art of anthropomorphic taxidermy at Hackney’s Last Tuesday Society for some time, will be running one or two sessions a month in the heart of Shoreditch. Boxpark (east London’s pop-up mall housed in shipping containers) will play host to Magpie as she shares with strong-stomached students her expertise in the practice of displaying taxidermied animals as if they were engaged in human activities. You don’t need any previous experience and all materials are provided, including some props and tiny items of clothing. You’re also welcome to take along miniature items of dress or decoration, although supplying your own mouse is not permitted (’elf and safety, mate). At the end of a four-hour session you won’t actually have conquered death but you’ll certainly have something unique to put on your mantlepiece.