Enrique Gomez De Molina is an artist from Miami who creates bizarre sculptures, with the stuffed parts of dead animals. While taxidermy itself isn’t something new, what De Molina does is he mixes up parts from different animals to create a new one, a new species all together. The result is what some might call art, and others may find plain disturbing.

For instance, one of the strange beings created by De Molina is a combination of a squirrel and a crab. The head of a squirrel and the body of the crab. Another one has the heads of two swans placed on the body of a goat. The art is all fine, but the artist himself is facing the possibility of landing in jail for no less than 5 years. He may also have to cough up $250,000 in fines. The reason – he illegally imported the body parts of endangered species, a crime that he has pleaded guilty to. He was arrested in November.

According to the police, De Molina did not obtain the permit required to import animal parts, skins and other remains. He apparently was aware that his actions were illegal. However, he went ahead and smuggled in parts are remains of cobras, hornbills, pangolins, etc. from all over the world. He asked people to wrap them in carbon paper while bringing them in. He is also charged with being in the possession of the skins of Java Kingfisher, birds of paradise and collared kingfishers.

While these sculptures might look disturbing and even seem like cruelty against animals, De Molina says that his aim is to raise awareness regarding the danger faced by a range of species. He wanted to depict the dangers of genetic engineering and human intervention. Meanwhile, he offers his pieces for sale on the internet and through exhibitions. The prices go up to $80,000. His work was recently put up at the Scope Art Fair in Miami. Two pieces were sold for a total of $100,000.

Photos © Enrique Gomez De Molina