18 june 2024, Flor Linckens
Charlotte Dumas: our relationship with animals as a mirror
Until 13 July, the exhibition 'A Terra' by Charlotte Dumas will be on display at andriesse~eyck gallery in Amsterdam. Her work invites us to reflect on our complex relationships with animals, especially those with whom we have an exceptional bond.
Our relationship with animals is, at the very least, ambivalent. We love some creatures as pets and attribute human traits to them, while we eat or confine others in zoos. How do these relationships and the underlying value systems reflect our state of mind and humanity? How does our relationship with animals change, and how is this related to the direct role they play in our lives? And what does it mean to be part of a collective species or pack?
Dumas is fascinated by working horses and dogs. The artist carefully and extensively observes her subjects, becoming familiar with their behaviour and environment. This approach adds depth to her work and results in intimate portraits. Over time, she has created series about police and firefighter dogs at Ground Zero after the 9/11 attacks, sleeping caisson horses that carry caskets during military ceremonies at the famous Arlington Cemetery, wild horses in Nevada, draft horses in the forests of northern Sweden and the last indigenous horses of Japan.
Dumas: “The notion that the state of humanity can be read and studied by the way we relate to animals is a vital thread in my work. My choice of subject relates directly to the way we use, co-exist with, and define specific animals, assigning various symbolisms to them as well as our own personal reflections. It is my belief that the disappearance of the actual presence of animals as a given in our society greatly affects how we experience life and influences our ability to be empathetic with one another.”
Alongside the stray dog projects, the gallery also presents Dumas' intimate black-and-white series of Asian elephants, photographed in zoos in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Kyoto. This small-format series is part of a wider investigation into the historical and current relationships between humans and elephants. Dumas also looks at ivory in museum collections and explores possible forms of restoration and restitution. The title 'Entendue' refers to what elephants hear and how we listen to them.
