Introducing Some of My Best Friends Are Dinosaurs
An exhibition of Natural History and Contemporary Art curated by The Connor Brothers

You may not know it, but you can buy a dinosaur. Earlier in May 2022, Christie’s sold an entire Raptor skeleton for $12.4m. Meanwhile, in 2021 the auction house sold ‘Stan’ the T.Rex to a mysterious anonymous bidder for $31.8, the highest price ever paid at auction for a fossil. The previous record was set in 1997 with the sale of ‘Sue’, a largely complete T. Rex purchased by Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History for $8.36 million (equivalent to nearly $13.5 million today). There has been a remarkable recent interest in collecting dinosaur skeletons, particularly among the rich and famous, with prices soaring and Dinos often disappearing from the realm of scientific research into the gilded homes of stars, never to be seen again.

Fossilised Skull of a Triceratops Dinosaur: *Triceratops horridus,* Late Cretaceous (68 - 66 million years ago)

In early 2020, The Connor Brothers, one of the worlds most controversial art duos, travelled to Tuscon, Arizona, for an exhibition. They happened to arrive at the time of the annual fossil and mineral fair and, long time lovers of all things dinosaur, the pair bought a Thescelosaurus skeleton on a lay- away plan. Cue lockdown and two years later, the final payment made, they found that their fossil had disappeared, or, as they recount it, ‘someone stole our dinosaur’. The Connor Brothers spent the next six months on a mission to track down what had happened to the 50 million year old skeleton. An extraordinary story evolved, featuring a stolen T- Rex, Nicolas Cage, the FBI, a trip to Mongolia, and a Mexican drug cartel. Never ones to shy away from the weird, the pair embraced the journey and followed their stolen dinosaur down it’s improbable rabbit hole.

“‘If you’ve never been in the backroom of a New York gallery, negotiating the return of a stolen dinosaur with a movie star, and the lawyer of the world’s most infamous drug cartel leader, you’ll never quite understand how weird it was. We’ve always loved dinosaurs, but now we really fucking love dinosaurs.’ ”

— The Connor Brothers

It is within this extraordinary context of ‘Dinomania’ that Cambridge contemporary art gallery, Extraordinary Objects presents its new exhibition Some Of My Best Friends Are Dinosaurs curated by internationally renowned artists The Connor Brothers alongside Gallery Director and Natural History enthusiast Carla Nizzola.

Showcasing a spectacular selection of natural history, alongside paintings from The Connor Brothers’ hugely popular Regression Series, Some Of My Best Friends Are Dinosaurs is the first exhibition of its kind, and offers visitors the opportunity to see many of the natural world’s most astonishing objects, alongside never before seen works by two of the UK’s most engaging artists. Highlights of the collection include many specimens rarely seen outside of a museum including the skull of a triceratops, meteorites, rare iridescent ammonites, an ichthyosaur, and a piece of the moon.

“There is nothing that captures the wonder of the natural world quite like dinosaurs. Not only are they amongst the most awe-inspiring creatures ever to have existed, but the fact that they lived tens of millions of years ago is itself mind-boggling. Perhaps no event in the history of our planet encompasses the drama of the natural world more than the meteor impact that led to the extinction of the dinosaurs. On a day millions of years ago, a billions of years old shooting star from outer space hit the earth and ended the reign of the most fearsome animals the world has ever known. Literally, what the fuck.

When Carla invited us to curate an exhibition that would include both meteorites and dinosaurs we couldn’t refuse. We’ve collected natural history since childhood and are still filled with a sense of wonder each time we discover or acquire a new object. For Some of My Best Friends Are Dinosaurs our sole guiding principle has been to choose the objects that most inspire this sense of wonder in us. We hope that through this exhibition other people can connect with that same feeling.”

— The Connor Brothers

Fossilised skull of a Mosasaur: *Tylosaurus proriger,* Cretaceous (85 million years ago)

Extraordinary Objects Gallery Director Carla Nizzola comments “two years in the making, this show is a labour of love, and has required travelling the world hunting down specific objects, visiting dig sites, and building relationships in the oft secretive world of paleontology. Every object in the show is truly extraordinary and offers us a fascinating glimpse of a time before human existence. I am delighted that The Connor Brothers, avid collectors in their own right, agreed to collaborate in curating the exhibition, and to show several works from their hugely sought-after new series. We are looking forward to welcoming visitors, and offering them the chance to see close up one of the only triceratops skulls in the UK in private hands.”

Gallery owner Carla Nizzola with the fossilised skull of an Edmontosaurus dinosaur: *Edmontosaurus annectens*, Late Cretaceous (68 - 66 million years ago)

This exhibition is truly remarkable, it brings together the highly unusual, absolutely intriguing, and completely curious to create a space for questioning and offer an insight into the eternal mysteries of our world. Alongside a set of exceptional objects, collected with care, sits new works by acclaimed British Artist duo The Connor Brothers bringing the incredibly old and the cutting- edge contemporary into conversation. The exhibition is unlike any other, and speaks to a lengthy process of acquisitions motivated by irrevocable passion for the weird and wonderful that Gallery Director Carla Nizzola and The Connor Brothers share.

EXHIBITION INFORMATION
SOME OF MY BEST FRIENDS ARE DINOSAURS Curated by The Connor Brothers
2 JULY – 2 OCTOBER 2022
Private View | Friday 1 July | 6 - 9pm

EXTRAORDINARY OBJECTS 
14 Green St, Cambridge CB2 3JU

Get in touch for pre-sales catalogue
carla@extraordinary-objects.co.uk