Animalia
“Animalia”
Natural History Museum of Venice
13 July-21 August 2016
curated by the photography club “La Gondola”
Opening hours: from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Opening: 6 p.m. on invitation until all available seats are taken
The exhibition, organized by the Venice-based photographic circle “La Gondola”, deals with the relationship between man and animal, highlighting the ways in which the human being relates to animality.
It offers a view which aims to evince the changes affecting our perception of the animal being perceived in the light of a speech that, on the ethical, philosophical and legal levels, is changing the thinking and social practices with regard to the treatment of animals.
The images are the result of a research that prompted the club members to reflect on the human-animal interaction dynamics. They point out the critical issues and the new possibilities of relating to an animality that is often not recognized as co-essential to humanity itself. Through these photos we move on the edge of animality in the human world: we reflect, on one hand, on the implications of animal exploitation, and, on the other, on the excessive humanization of our pets and show new forms of coexistence.
The animal being is presented both as a thing, highlighting all the reifying power of human action, and as a living being like the human species, suggesting the possibilities for interaction based on compassion and on overcoming the anthropocentric view. The photograph thus anticipates reality: by showing the dominant state of things, it offers a pre-vision of the possibilities to come.
