MACON, Ga. — Barry Rhoades is a professor of Biology at Wesleyan College in Macon.
He and his students have been working hard for over 10 years to piece together a different kind of puzzle.
"In a vertebrate anatomy class, you dissect some animals and I thought it would be a nice counterbalance to build some," Rhoades said.
Rhoades and his students started with bones and the task to recreate different species.
Their successful completion of projects now lies in the Mill Hill Community Arts Center in a Still Life exhibit.
"This is a Springbok, which is an African antelope, but the males would do this wrestling with the horns," Rhoades said as he pointed to a large skeleton in a fighting pose.
Rhoades says his goal was to do justice to the animals by positioning them in a way that would be natural if they were still alive.
"Sloths spend their lives upside down, lemurs glide, raccoons climb, and antelopes wrestle, so that's the idea behind it," he said.
This exhibit isn't what you would typically see in the Mill Hill Community Arts Center, but artist-in-residence Jeni Hansen Gard says the skeletons are still art.
"We’re really excited about this idea of bringing Barry's skeletons in because I think there are a lot of connections between science and art, and I think this is the perfect synthesis of that," Jensen Gard said.
The exhibit will run through May 9.
You can visit the Mill Hill Community Center on Mondays from 5-7 p.m., or during one of their special events listed on their Facebook Page.
There will also be a special event Saturday, April 27 from 4:30-6 p.m. Barry Rhoades will be speaking at 5 p.m to talk about the exhibit. Admission is free.