Feathered Dinosaurs Inspire Artist (Renaissance Dinosaur)

Melbourne based artist Kate Rohde, a graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts, has been inspired by feathered dinosaurs to create some unique pieces of artwork in support of an Australian fashion event.

Working in collaboration with Sydney based fashion label Romance was born, Kate has helped create an elaborate installation of lurid, feathered, paper mache dinosaurs, prehistoric animals and other creatures inspired by the clothing company’s designs.

Feathered Dinosaurs

Part of the fashion collection is based around a Jurassic colour scheme and Kate’s vibrant sculptures made from synthetic fur, fabric and other modern materials provide an excellent accompaniment to the art/fashion installation.

The exhibition brings together sculpture, clothing, wall-paper, material and other unique objects of interest in a display where a fusion of art and creative activities meets fashion.

Whilst scientists are quite confident that dinosaurs had colour vision and many of them were indeed feathered, no one can be sure for certain what colour dinosaurs were.  Kate’s interpretations certainly paint a picture of bright and colourful creatures from the Mesozoic – but nobody can tell her she is wrong, her interpretation is as good as the most accomplished palaeontologist.

Her characteristic intricate resin detailing is located in a number of pieces and her own fantastical and imaginative use of materials is perfectly combined and complemented in this project.

Photographs show the beautifully crafted pterosaur, whilst one could perhaps point out one or two anatomical inaccuracies there is no denying that this is a striking piece.

The favourite sculpture amongst team members at Everything Dinosaur is the pink Triceratops.  There have been a number of news stories featuring Triceratops recently, most prominent of which is the view that this iconic dinosaur may actually be a immature Torosaurus and therefore not a unique dinosaur genus at all.  However, it is great to see Triceratops featured in the art exhibition, and we do know that some dinosaurs could flush blood into the skin to turn pink and red, so you never know – after all, protofeathers have been found on fossilised skeletons of the ornithischian dinosaur Psittacosaurus, an ancestor of Triceratops.

To read more about the Triceratops/Torosaurus controversy: The Extinction of Torosaurus – Second Time Around.

These amazing prehistoric animal sculptures are on display at an exhibition called “Renaissance Dinosaur” at the KW Gallery (Karen Woodbury Gallery, Richmond, Victoria, Australia) which runs from August 25th until September 18th.

Visit Everything Dinosaur’s award-winning website: Everything Dinosaur.