Murky

March 18, 2019 11:38 AM

Dom Krapski writes about (krap.ski) his encounter with the disintegrating corpse (image) of Rosie, a large great white shark (image) currently sitting in a murky vat (image) of formaldehyde in an abandoned wildlife park in Australia. Photos by Garry Moore.
posted by not_the_water (19 comments total)

haunting and riveting! Thank you so much for sharing.

I actually really like Hirst's work, but I can't even imagine the singular thrill of approaching this beautiful lonely corpse. I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about it.
posted by Dressed to Kill at 12:11 PM on March 18, 2019

I can’t conceive of a world in which you haven’t heard of this work.

Gonna file this in with another of my favorite phrases, "I know more about [topic] than you can possible imagine."
posted by glonous keming at 12:24 PM on March 18, 2019 [4 favorites]

The stuff in the tank, if anything, gives me an even more intense haunted feeling. I can imagine the tank being cleaned out by human hands, but it is not possible for me to do so without me also imagining the shark slowly, carefully, even gently, moving to meet those hands...
posted by Fish Sauce at 12:26 PM on March 18, 2019 [4 favorites]

I'm pretty sure that the SCP was inspired by Hirst, but reading this piece reminded me of SCP-1057, Absence of Shark. The idea is greater than the actual.
posted by Hactar at 12:37 PM on March 18, 2019 [6 favorites]

Imagine walking into that shed without knowing about the shark.
posted by Rock Steady at 12:42 PM on March 18, 2019 [7 favorites]

That was great, and really perceptive about how the ideas of things are often more irresistible than the underwhelming reality of the actual things.
posted by chappell, ambrose at 12:48 PM on March 18, 2019 [1 favorite]

In LukieMC’s first clip, it’s possible to see, if you’re paying attention, that someone has pried the roof off Rosie’s vitrine.

Hákarl interruptus would probably be the smell? With pronounced notes of dissection class in high school biology?
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 1:04 PM on March 18, 2019

We're left to speculate, since he wore a proper respirator on his visit to Rosie.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 1:07 PM on March 18, 2019

This is fascinating.

Krapski could use an editor.
posted by aspersioncast at 1:10 PM on March 18, 2019 [3 favorites]

posted by not_the_water
posted by Fish Sauce

Is there a word for doubly eponysterical?

Seriously, thanks for sharing this. Eerie and fascinating.
posted by daisyk at 1:20 PM on March 18, 2019 [2 favorites]

The SF Academy of Sciences had a large preserved shark on display in my youth and i was FASCINATED. (its really surprisingly hard to google but this just can not be one of those false childhood memories, i spent hundreds of days there growing up).

So damn creepy.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 1:22 PM on March 18, 2019 [3 favorites]

> With pronounced notes of dissection class in high school biology

She has no smell apart from Formaldehyde
posted by The corpse in the library at 1:26 PM on March 18, 2019 [1 favorite]

I wonder why he pitched to Vice? I can think of half-a-dozen other paying publications that are better suited to his writing style and that would be interested in this content.
posted by JamesBay at 2:39 PM on March 18, 2019

That's a really nice piece. Thanks.
posted by turbid dahlia at 3:05 PM on March 18, 2019

Krapski could use an editor.

Maybe it's because he prefaced the article with "Vice weren't interested in my extended ramblings," but his writing style was over-wordy and hard to follow.

But what a weird thing to present as art. I've seen Piss Christ and Fountain (and I know more about them than you can possibly imagine), but the idea of a decomposing animal on display in your home - or wherever you would display it - seems over the top. Any ideas what other artwork requires its owner to periodically replace its rotting flesh?
posted by bendy at 6:26 PM on March 18, 2019

Any ideas what other artwork requires its owner to periodically replace its rotting flesh?

Life :-(
posted by The Toad at 9:31 PM on March 18, 2019 [8 favorites]

Any ideas what other artwork requires its owner to periodically replace its rotting flesh?

Flower Arranging
Taxidermy
Tattoo
Haute Cuisine
posted by Rock Steady at 5:50 AM on March 19, 2019 [2 favorites]

this article sparked a day of fascination and research about Rosie for me yesterday. turns out the original youtube exurb video brought about a Save Rosie the Shark GoFundMe campaign that has helped Rosie escape her abandoned shed and see the beginnings of a restoration effort.

thanks for the post!
posted by hollisimo at 8:54 AM on March 19, 2019 [2 favorites]

Soimeone claimed that the tank had been completely shattered, but this was probably because if you lie on the internet it gives you power.
posted by BiggerJ at 7:07 PM on March 19, 2019 [2 favorites]