The Arts Catalyst and A Foundation invite you to
Interspecies
2-4 October 2009, 11am-7pm daily, admission and all
events
free
How do humans and animals relate to
each other? In The Arts Catalyst's Interspecies exhibition and event, seven
international artists have created a range of work that explores this complex
relationship. From live experiments that allow visitors to communicate with
fish to a video work that explores the age-old affiliation between falconer and
falcon, Interspecies brings together a number of artists working with
animals and explores the boundaries of our interaction. Curious about the animal's
point of view, the artists challenge the dominant human viewpoint and aim to
work in collaboration with other species.
Performance artist Kira O'Reilly will take part in a
durational performance Falling Asleep
with a Pig. Drawing on fairy tales, metamorphosis and the magical intimacy
of sleep, the artist will share a living space with a pig for 72 hours.
The simple acts of living, sleeping and eating with a different species create
an intriguing narrative and suggest a shared experience.
French artist Nicholas Primat worked closely
with primates in residencies at zoos
and laboratories, spending many months gaining their acceptance. His intuitive
video piece, Portrait de Famille,
filmed with baboons and spider monkeys, shows a human who had learned how
to be fully accepted by another species.
New commissions from The Arts
Catalyst include a multi channel video installation by Ruth Maclennan, working with the same falconer in Northumberland as
in His Brilliant Eye, and Antony Hall's intriguing Enki Experiment 4, showing how humans
communicate with electric fish. Rachel
Mayeri will show Primate Cinema, a
series of filmed works that translate primate social dramas for human
audiences. One screen shows footage of the encounters of baboons, whilst
another shows a re-enactment by actors.
Inspired by US philosopher Donna
Haraway and her seminal text Companion
Species, Interspecies explores human interaction with animals through a
mix of video, performance and experiments. Programmed to coincide with Darwin's
200th anniversary, the exhibition is
accompanied by free symposia and family events that will question how the arts
and sciences approach issues from conservation to animal rights.
Interspecies is
organised by The Arts Catalyst
in partnership with A Foundation.
EVENTS - all events are
free, some have limited
places, full details and bookings at www.artscatalyst.org
Friday
2 October 7-9pm
Symposium: Non-Human Primates
Saturday
3 October
1-3pm and
3.30-5.30pm Primate Cinema: How to Act
Like An Animal workshops with Rachel Mayeri
3-6pm
Symposium:
Animals, Humans and Power (British Sign Language interpreted)
Sunday
4 October
2-5pm, Interspecies Family Day
including:
2-4pm Becoming Bowerbirds, with artist Sally
Hampson
2pm, 3pm and 4pm Interspecies Tales by poet and
storyteller Shamin Azad
Animal
Handler's Tales with James Mackay,
broadcaster and trainer of the owls used in the first Harry Potter movie
(please check website for time)
Exhibition
funded by Arts Council England, Darwin 200 and A Foundation
