THE WAY THINGS SEEM
During the pandemic lockdown most of the human population was forced to undergo their own version of confinement and experience what it is like to be physically and emotionally distanced. Many of us underwent emotions of isolation and grief by being deprived of freedom and unable to visit loved ones and family.
These perturbing times may give us the opportunity to begin understanding the feelings of isolation, anxiety and stress we inflict on our fellow Earth residents: the animals we conveniently label as livestock, utility and entertainment animals.
Just like the pets we love and cherish, these animals, too, are sentient individuals who experience the same emotions of pain, joy and fear and have the strong desire to live.
The perception we have of them is often inadvertently coloured by the ‘return’ they give to us, or rather, we take from them. We have become desensitised to the realities they are put in as it is deeply rooted within our culture to consume without reflection. To many people it seems ’normal’ for animals to be confined, used, consumed and impeded from doing the things that are natural and instinctive to them.
With “THE WAY THINGS SEEM,” I would like to reflect on what it means for humanity and our planet when humans pretend it is okay to use, abuse and consume everything on Earth to suit their desires and trivial “needs”. With the delusional perception of false freedom we have let ourselves become manipulated, kept and herded into a profit driven system in such a way that we obey, follow and conform to an order that harms ourselves, the animals, our ecosystems and our entire planet.
February 4 – April 4, 2023
Location: Gallery Daeppen, Müllheimerstrasse 144, 4057 Basel, Switzerland.