“Artist as Animal” presented by Valender
Symposium:
Session Title:
- Interspecies (artist talks)
Presentation Title:
- Artist as Animal
Presentation Subtheme:
- Symbiotic Imaginaries
Presenter(s):
Venue(s):
Abstract:
The use of animals within contemporary art is politically and morally divisive. How can an art practice be used as a navigational tool to explore the harmony and discord between symbiotic animal-human relationships? This talk will present artworks in progress that reimagine cultural exchanges between species and the ethical dilemmas they conjure.
How can contemporary art be used as a navigational tool to explore the harmony and discord between symbiotic animal-human relationships? The use of animals within contemporary art is politically and morally divisive. This project seeks to investigate the ethical quagmire of humananimal relationships through a contemporary art practice and is influenced by CoVA’s Art + Ecology residency at the University of Melbourne’s Dookie Agricultural Campus.
The paradoxes associated with our relationships with animals and the use of animals in artworks is where my art practice is positioned. As much as anyone, I am conflicted in my moral standing towards and relationship with animals. I have not eaten meat for over twenty years; however, I have used leather and animal lard in the creation of artworks. Animal matter, such as a cow hide vessel or cattle gut strings strung on a harp, often do not evoke critical discussion when used in artworks. On the other hand, a disfigured or augmented taxidermy specimen of a
cow or calf in the gallery may provoke public outcry. Why?This artist talk will call into question interspecies relations and present artworks in progress that reimagine cultural exhanges between species.
