The Paradox of Animals

Louise Tagg

‘We visually experience and consume a dazzling panoply of animals that surrounds us in our world’ (Malamud 2012 - An Introduction to Animals and Visual Culture).

Many animals are hurt and even killed at the hands of humans. What if our fascination with looking and admiring animals is combined with this truth?

My self-directed project looks into the concept of using animal objects, as statues, pillows, or prints, to decorate our homes and admire them, combined with the truth that animals are suffering from human interaction.

Using the media of screen printing, I have incorporated illustrations of some of the most loved animals. Also, there are illustrations of objects, representing the contrast of animals and human interaction, that can threaten the lives of so many animals. I have focused on multiple areas where humans interact with animals, from trophy hunting, to threats to bees. With these, I have layered them up to demonstrate this concept, using colours that can be enhanced using coloured lenses. When you look at one layer, you admire the animals, using another lense, the visual ‘threats’ appear, and the third instructs: ‘Find the Truth’.

Using research throughout this year, I wanted to get across the idea of a culture that uses animals in its decor, to essentially look appealing, yet when you see it with a new lense (literally) the truth of the interaction humans have with these animals is unveiled - The Paradox of Animals.