Inspired by their discovery of three bears in a Glasgow basement in 2001 Bryndis Snæbjörnsdóttir and Mark Wilson set up to photograph every taxidermied polar bear in the UK.

To mark the end of their mission, an exhibition at the Horniman Museum in London, and a book, Nanoq: Flat Out and Bluesome, bring together for the first time the portraits of the 34 bears they caught on camera.

Although most of the bears in the UK were brought there by 19th-century explorers, the desire to have a bear of one’s own is not dead. “Stuffed animals seem to be cool again,” suggests Wilson.

The exhibition runs 21 October 2006 – 25 April 2007 at the Horniman Museum in south London.

Via The Telegraph. More about the resurgence of taxidermy and China farming bears for their bile.