The trash goblin _{by Alessia Belsito-Riera}

A self-described trash goblin, Wellington creative Dan Ross believes that “you don’t find your interests, they find you”. His come in the form of taxidermy sculptures that take shape somewhere between whimsy and horror. You can meet his creepy creations, peek inside his Cabinet of Curiosities, at Thistle Hall from the 26^th of August to the 6^th of September.

Drawn to the macabre, the mysterious, the unknown, the abominations since he was a kid, Ross chalks it down to reading pulp horror comic books and watching “old black and white movies with mad scientists cackling away at their unnatural creations”.

“Most people on the autism spectrum are hyper-fixated on some very specific things,” he says, “and I just read way too many horror comic books, true crime, and animal attack stories.”

Cut to 2018 when Ross was wandering along Petone beach one day collecting dead crabs and it dawned on him that he could make something out of them. “I’m now commonly seen scooping up pigeons, rats, and other dead animals around Wellington and giving them robot legs, bowties, vampire fangs, and moustaches.”

Through his artwork he gives these creatures a second life, turning “dead greeblies” into dapper pigeons, steampunk battle crabs, or creepy Frankenstein abominations down at Pablos Art Studio.

“There’s something very satisfying about taking a sad dead pigeon, shoving sawdust inside him and giving him a top hat and glasses,” Ross continues. “He went from sad squish boy to fancy boy.”

He says people either love or hate his work. “Take away what you want, either way I’m happy. I just want to leave this world a little weirder than I found it.”