Fine Arts

The question is not, Can they reason? nor, Can they talk? but, Can they suffer?'
- Jeremy Bentham

In our 'civilised' society, animals are voiceless, mute, unexpressed. This piece evokes the powerlessness of an animal to determine their own fate in our world, and teases our capacity to view non-humans as agents of will. By challenging the dichotomy of inferiority and empowerment, the animals - depicted holding blank placards on soap boxes - appear destined to fail to connect with humans. Despite adopting well-known, almost hackneyed, forms of protest, their attempts seem fated to collapse, and to be brushed aside. Their minuscule stature mimics their sense of inferiority, with which many humans view them, and the casting of their shadows on the wall aims to inflate and inflict their presence. In spite of their efforts, their shadows remain insubstantial, hollow fractures of mere light and shade; strikingly unlike the tangibility of their suffering.