The Non-Human Animal – Negotiating Bio-relations

The Non-Human Animal – Negotiating Bio-relations

28 September – 24 November 2019

Rebecca Digby (Sweden), Lars Brunström (Sweden), Saara Ekström (Finland), Maureen Gruben (Canada), Gunnhildur Hauksdóttir (Iceland/Germany), Eva Klasson (Sweden), Lenore Malen (USA), Fredrik Strid (Sweden)

Eight artists working internationally present sculptures, videos, installations and photographs which in a variety of ways seek to renegotiate the relationship between human beings and other species. The exhibition offers scope for play, empathy and the expression of animalistic emotions, alongside reflections on how the divide between human being and animal is in a constant state of flux. The cultural shift that is emerging in the wake of climate change, and which is already resulting in species extinction and enforced migration, is urging us to enter into genuine ecological interplay. The works of art presented put our sensual perspectives, performability, pre-modern knowledge, and contemporary research as potential models to the test. We are also presented with the opportunity to lay bare our emotional processes and feeling of dejection as the new landscapes that are being shaped by climate change gradually evolve.

The project is being in run in association with Zennström Professorship in Climate Change Leadership Activities and researchers specialising in animal studies and biodiversity, along with other participants at Uppsala University and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. It will be followed by a series of programmes.