Animals objectified in Art

Serene Ong, channelnewsasia.com 19 Oct 09;

SINGAPORE: Animal lovers and naturalists should be making a beeline to 2902 Gallery for an unusual visual interpretation on the relationship between Man and Animal. Presented by three rising photographers, the ANIMAL exhibition explores the role of Man as both an intimate observer and a detached voyeur in the natural kingdom.

Lending a scientific slant to the showcase is award-winning photographer Zhao Renhui. The 26-year-old, who graduated with first class honours from London's Camberwell College of Arts, has won a number of accolades for his work, ranging from the AOP Student Photographer of the Year Award to the United Overseas Bank POY Art Award.

Explaining the zoological element in his art form, Zhao said: "I am interested in the cultural roles that animals have to play in our contemporary society. What I investigate with my art is the relationship that humans have with animals. These investigations often lead me into studying the behaviours which we have towards animals, the structures which govern our understanding towards animals and how society has classified and objectified the animal form.

"I am showing two series of works in this exhibition. One series is on the portraits of stuffed animals in the museum and the other tells a story of an expedition into the wild. Both of these works question the animal form being objectified in our contemporary society. They contemplate the animal form as a shell without a soul. Some of the expedition images are rather ambiguous, showing only traces of an animal."

By juxtaposing lifelike taxidermied animals and wildlife images, his collection challenges the idea of 'natural' and rouses further reflection on the concept of 'a living thing', re-labelling the mundane and encouraging critical viewpoints.

Zhao, whose fascination with animals and photography started from a young age, has also been involved in wildlife conservation projects that shape his understanding of Man's contemporary relationship with animals.

"In 2007, I visited the tiger farms in China as part of my research. I was awarded a grant from my university to do a research on animal establishments. The photography project was not about saving tigers but rather, on our ironic relationship with tigers. I was shocked and excited when I first learnt about these farms in China. The primary concern at first was the ethics involved in tiger-farming, but it shifted after an actual visit to the farms.

"For example, I found out that there were more tigers in captivity in the United States than all the wild tigers in the world. A lot of conservation money is being spent on the conservation of tigers when a lot of aesthetically insignificant species are left to die.

"The problem here was that as an animal, the tiger seemingly enjoys an attractive aesthetic appeal in our society, therefore the amount of time and finances spent on the conservation of the tiger outweighs that of the last two toads struggling to survive in the Amazon basin... I decided at one point of time to look into how we react to animals in our society, rather than comment on how animals are in society," he said.

His artistic pieces, along with thought-provoking works by photographers Serena Teo and Derrick Choo, are on display at the 2902 Gallery, The Old School at Mount Sophia, till October 21.