A joint exhibition between the WPCC and Lake Macquarie City Art Gallery, Wild Side: The Animal In Art is expected to take Dubbo by storm.

The exhibition is officially opened on Friday evening at 6pm, where one of the 22 artists, Hayden Fowler, will be talking about his pieces in Wild Side: The Animal In Art.

WPCC assistant curator, Caroline Edwards, said Fowler was an interesting artist to observe.

A New Zealand biologist by trade, Ms Edwards said Fowler used his body to showcase his work, getting his body tattooed with an artwork of extinct native New Zealand birds.

"It's an endurance performance," Ms?Edwards said.

"He gets his tattoos where people can stop and watch the process."

Fowler then presents his work in photograph form to present society's disconnection with animals and nature.

Ms Edwards said another interesting element of Wild Side: The Animal In Art, was a project put together by Julia deVille, who specialises her work in jewellery and taxidermy displaying a bejeweled lamb, a cat and a number of birds. Ms Edwards said "the animal in art" was explored in so many different ways. A giant rhino painted by artist Peter Gardiner was expected to be a show stopper, along with a manta ray made entirely of Lego pieces.

Wild Side: The Animal in Art officially opens on Friday, July 17, at the Western Plains Cultural Centre at 6pm.