Miranda Cichy

Email: m.cichy.1@research.glasgow.ac.uk

Research title: How can biodiversity loss and extinction be better understood through arts-science collaboration?

Research Summary

My research is concerned with anthropogenic bird loss during the Sixth Mass Extinction, and how taxidermy specimens in both the visible and non-visible areas of museums enable us to experience such extinction. In a time where we are losing species at an abnormal rate, my work asks what the presence of manipulated skins does to convey the animal’s ultimate absence, and how it facilitates a unique encounter between human and non-human.

By exploring the histories and biogeographies of extinct and endangered specimens, my work seeks to "flesh out" the fragile surface remains of these animals, exposing the troubled history of 19th century taxidermy and its modern use and developments. Examining the use of taxidermy in both museums and visual art; its subjectivity to decay; and the development of taxidermy “copies”, or recreations; my thesis explores how institutions might make use of existing collections to enable audiences to better encounter extinction.     

Supervisors

External supervisors

  • Dr David Borthwick
  • Professor Pat Monaghan
  • Ms Maggie Reilly 

Grants

2018-2022 Lord Kelvin Adam Smith (LKAS) scholarship

  • Winner of the LKAS 3-minute-thesis competition (2019) 

Conferences

2024:

  • ‘Dead or Alive? Decay and Animation in Extinction Taxidermy’, at Nonhuman Animals in the Age of Extinction and Mass Production, University College Dublin, May 2024

2021:

  • 'At Last: The Endling in Extinction Narratives', at British Animal Studies Network: Loss (online), September 2021

2020:

  • 'Animal Afterlives: Encountering the Extinct Great Auk' at Fins, Furs and Feathers: Natural and Supernatural Animals of Scotland and the North, part of the Wild Goose Festival, Dumfries (online), October 2020
  • ‘Life After Death: Encounters with Extinction Taxidermy’, at ASLE-uki 2020, University of Sheffield (online), September 2020  

2019:

  • Part of the organizing committee for Lost Species Day at the Hunterian Museum. During the event, I facilitated a creative writing workshop and participated as a reader in an extinction-themed poetry performance.
  • ‘Beyond Skin: Encounters with the Paradise Parrot’, at British Society for Literature and Science, Extinctions + Rebellions, University of Liverpool, November 2019
  • Poetry read as part of Beastly Modernisms conference, University of Glasgow, September 2019

Additional Information

I am a Research Assistant on 'How can a university presence help peripheral and disadvantaged places? The potentials and challenges for universities’ civic mission through branch or distributed campuses', funded by the British Academy and Leverhulme Trust. This is a collaboration between researchers at the University of Glasgow and the University of Strathclyde (September 2025 - ongoing). 

Past experience:

Research Assistant on 'Evaluation of a Physical Activity Systems-based Approach'. Commissioned by Public Health Scotland to undertake the evaluation exploring the application of their system-based approach to local physical activity promotion in Scotland (April - June 2025).

Research Assistant on UNESCO funded project 'ECO for Me: Creating Inclusive Environmental and Sustainability Education (ESD) for Young People with Additional Support Needs (ASN).' Project partners were the Galloway & Southern Ayrshire Biosphere; the University of Glasgow; The Usual Place; and the Crichton Carbon Centre (October 2024 - April 2025).

Research Assistant on AHRC/DCMS awarded project 'Triangulation of Values Using Different Methods: Caveat' (April - September 2024).


A woman standing in front of reeds