Beastly/Tierisch
Beastly/Tierisch
May 29, 2015
Simen Johan - Untitled #174, from the series "Until the Kingdom Comes", 2013
© Simen Johan, Courtesy Yossi Milo Gallery, New York
“Beastly/Tierisch” explores these issues in recent photography and video by Sammy Baloji, Marcus Coates, Revital Cohen und Tuur Van Balen, Alessandra Sanguinetti, Moussa Sarr, Carolee Schneemann, Xiaoxiao Xu and many more, revealing how the traditionally anthropocentric nature of vision has been overturned.
The exhibition examines the way in which animals become embroiled in human processes and passions, whether caged, consumed or otherwise caught up in a very human animal-industrial complex. It also explores how the animal appears in art as a figure of critique, either in the form of political allegory or through aesthetic transformation. In recent practice, a more ‘beastly’ position begins to emerge, pursued by those who seek a bio-centric perspective. In such work, artists attempt to think the animal creatively in its own terms, forging worlds of fantasy freed from humankind.
Finally, “Beastly/Tierisch” includes an innovative installation of vernacular photography and film, including books, posters and postcards, as well as a host of recent internet images, a veritable virtual zoo. How is animality reconfigured today through everyday photographic practice?
For more information, please see Fotomuseum
Simen Johan - Untitled #174, from the series "Until the Kingdom Comes", 2013
© Simen Johan, Courtesy Yossi Milo Gallery, New York
Revital Cohen/Tuur Van Balen - Sterile, 2014
© Revital Cohen und Tuur Van Balen, London