Arrival of the Ocelots

More coverage of the installation of Yinka Shonibare MBE with these images of the ocelots being unpacked and condition reported by our conservation team. They form part of the work entitled Leisure Lady (with ocelots) which also consists of a life size mannequin walking these beautiful ocelots.

I totally fell in love with these images and it prompted me to do a little research on what an ocelot is. The wonder of the internet produced these results:

Definitions of Ocelots on the Web:

· Ocelot - Ocelot, Oserotto, also known as Shalashaska - Sharashāshikaa mistransliteration of Sharashka and whose real name is Adamska, is a recurring antagonist in the Metal Gear series who was originally introduced in Metal Gear Solid as ...en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocelot_(Metal_Gear)

· Ocelot - The O-Force is a superhuman mutant team in the Marvel Comics
Universe. Their first appearance was in X-Statix #1. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocelot_(comics)

· oCeLoT aka Aaron Peacock (born 1974 in San Francisco, California) is a record producer and DJ. He has been producing music since 2001 and has released material on Dropout Productions, Vertigo Records, Ceiba Records, and Insomnia Records. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocelot_(musician)

· ocelot - An American feline carnivore (Scientific name: Felis pardalis) covered with blackish ocellated spots and blotches which are variously arranged en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ocelot

· The Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), also known as the Painted Leopard, McKenney's Wildcat or Manigordo (in Costa Rica), is a wild cat distributed ... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocelots

· ocelot - nocturnal wildcat of Central America and South America having a
dark-spotted buff-brown coat wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

I think I will go with the last three for what I am looking for. Here is a 'cute' picture to show you what they really look like in the flesh.

As an interesting aside, I also discovered while researching the ocelots that Salvador Dali kept an ocelot as a pets. One article even suggests his name was 'Ozzie'


A story about Dali's ocelot from here.

Dali's pet ocelot often went with the artist wherever he went. Once at a New York restaurant Dali tied the ocelot to the table leg, and completely surprised an upper
class society- lady. He told her that the ocelot was only a cat, painted with an op-art design. She preferred to believe the ocelot was fake but Dali was apparently pleased
with the conversation.

Yinka Shonibare MBE opens 28 February 2009