Review of Making Nature: How We See Animals
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Farebrother, E 2017 Review of Making Nature: How We See Animals. Papers from the Institute of Archaeology, 27(1): Art. 11, pp. 1–7, DOI: https://doi. org/10.5334/pia-525 REVIEW Review of Making Nature: How We See Animals Making Nature: How We See Animals, Exhibition at The Wellcome Collection, 1st December 2016–21st May 2017 Elizabeth Farebrother The intensifying effect of climate change on our global environment has implications for humans and animals alike. Making Nature emphasises the symbiosis that has existed between humans and animals for thousands of years. Four separate rooms: ‘Ordering’, ‘Displaying’, ‘Observing’ and ‘Making’ combine to explore how human decision-making influences our classification of animals and our attitudes towards them. Themes of behaviour, communication, display and modification are effectively integrated with taxonomic literature, artistic representation and scientific debates to demonstrate changing human-animal relationships. Keywords: Nature; Animals; Science; Human-Animal Relationships; Review; Museum Collections; Zooarchaeology Introduction Ordering Against the backdrop of changing environ- Ordering explores taxonomic classification and ments and new steps in human-animal acts as an introduction to the core themes of interaction, Making Nature explores and Making Nature: classification and perception. A challenges narratives surrounding the way in range of resources including books, posters, art which humans choose to view, categorise, and and film are presented to show how humans manipulate animals. Lines between ‘wild’ and have chosen to order and classify animal ‘domestic’ are blurred throughout, using crea- worlds for several thousand years. Allora and tively-curated objects to divide themes by room Cazedilla’s (2014) film installation ‘The Great (Figure 1). Ordering, Displaying, Observing and Silence’ is a powerful opening to the exhibition Making represent four visual and ideological (Figure 2). Exploring recent developments challenges to the audience’s perception of from the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico humans, animals and their interaction. Whilst and its local endangered parrots, it is a moving mostly applicable to the modern world, the narrative which juxtaposes the wealth of infor- exhibition occasionally digresses to explore mation that is yet to be discovered about the human-animal relationships in the recent past. animal world alongside new efforts in space exploration. It also leaves the audience to criti- University College London, GB cally analyse the relationship between humans, [email protected] animals and exploratory science. Art. 11, page 2 of 7 Farebrother: Review of Making Nature Figure 1: Budgie specimens illustrating colour variations: Budgie specimens illustrating colour variations © Trustees of the Natural History Museum. Figure 2: Allora & Calzadilla, The Great Silence, 2014, © the artists, courtesy Lisson Gallery: Allora & Calzadilla, The Great Silence, 2014, © the artists, courtesy Lisson Gallery. Farebrother: Review of Making Nature Art. 11, page 3 of 7 The work of Carl Linnaeus takes pride of (1853–1936) himself (see Larson 2006). place in Ordering, and the exhibition effec- Displaying integrates science, art and display tively explores how he derived his taxonomic and reflects upon these themes particularly classifications presented in his influential effectively. The integration of science and art work Systema naturae (1735), and how others is not a particularly new phenomenon, as ech- have since chosen to classify the animal world. oed by the illustrations of children’s author A minor criticism of Ordering would be that and Wellcome’s contemporary Beatrix Potter humans have been categorising animals long (1866–1943) which are displayed upon the before Ancient Greek philosophers began to wall. Potter’s own illustrations of British ani- order them into textual resources. Particularly mals were particularly influenced by her vis- complementary worldviews may have been its to the Natural History Museum in London found in discussions of animal domestication, and – like Peter Rabbit in his blue jacket and the emergence of secondary products, animal shoes – her children’s books often anthropo- deities and decisions to consume and avoid morphosised animals to allow young readers particular animal resources (e.g. Sherratt to better identify with her work (e.g. Potter 1981, 1983; Clutton-Brock 1994; Manning 1902, 1905, 1908, 1913) Drawing upon ani- and Serpell, 1994; Politis and Saunders, 2002; mal stereotypes in folklore was as important Marciniak, 2011; Russell, 2012; Poole, 2013). to her writing as scientific accuracy. The Throughout Making Nature, examples of sketches from her studies exaggerate human taxidermy are creatively placed to illustrate qualities in animal specimens, and are dis- changes in the relationship between humans played next to plans and sketches of the and animals. In Ordering, Waterton’s imagi- Natural History Museum during its incep- nary taxidermy of saki monkeys evokes ideas of tion. This curatorial decision evokes continu- the Enlightenment-era ‘Cabinet of Curiosities’. ity of the theme of Displaying in itself. It highlights how humans have modified ani- Displaying chooses to use examples of mals for display, conveniently setting the scene anthropomorphosised animals such as for the central theme of the second room. Potter’s illustrations throughout, but in a style which one has come to anticipate from Displaying exhibitions at the Wellcome Collection, This room considers how curation decisions Making Nature shies away from examples have profound influence on audience per- one might expect. This area of the exhibition ceptions of certain species as a result of their uses 19th Century taxidermy to highlight how display. The increasingly urbanised nature of display affects interpretation of a scene. An human experience has led to further separa- 1876 diorama of foxes in their natural habitat tion between human and animal worlds. Whilst by Peter Spicer (1839–1935) is placed imme- some animals have responded to increasing diately adjacent to a Taxidermy Diorama urbanisation by adapting to new ecological of Squirrels Playing Cards by Walter Potter niches, or by being kept as pets, Displaying, (1835–1918). The stark contrast between and the following area Observing draw upon animals in their natural habitat, and clothed themes of human perception, and empha- animals positioned in a house conducting sise that this is not universal. Perception of typically human activities. This emphasises nature is key to how authors, media and muse- the choice to exaggerate how specific char- ums express animals. Displaying presents an acteristics and behaviours affect our percep- excellent retrospective of a variety of objects, tion of the natural world. designed to deliberately show the contrast in The decision to use a mirrored wall along human attitudes towards animals. one wall of this part of the exhibition empha- Making Nature also reflects the wide- sises another important, yet not immediately ranging interests of Henry Wellcome obvious point to the audience – humans Art. 11, page 4 of 7 Farebrother: Review of Making Nature are animals too. Upon this mirrored wall animal confinement and how humans choose is the ‘Museology’ series by Richard Ross, to observe animals. This room itself is wooden which places animals into human worlds, and crate-like. The mirror is once again used to surrounded by man-made resources such as remind us humans are animals too, but wood bubble wrap. This further blurs the bounda- has created bar-like separations, also apparent ries and is perhaps a commentary on the throughout the room, which mostly focuses drastic effect of humans on animal habitats on how humans capture and control nature. during the Anthropocene. Upon entering the room, one is immediately Displaying is also the first time that we see distracted by the noise of a chuffing tiger from how modern technology is affecting the rela- Warnell’s (2016) ‘Ming of Harlem: Twenty One tionship between humans and animals, later Storeys in the Air” (Figure 3). This installation featured in Making. The advent of 3D Printing removes the animal from its natural habitat to has caused excitement in the world of natu- an apartment in New York, and shows the rela- ral history as it allows curated specimens to tionship between humans and apex predators be replicated for study. In the case of extinct at its most extreme. Celebrity animals – argu- taxa, this is especially pertinent, as it allows us ably a continuation of exotic confinement – to create and display multiple likenesses for are also exhibited here: Jumbo the Elephant, educational purposes, without compromis- Ivy and Brumus the Polar Bears, and a model ing precious specimens. In this case, a Barbary of a Chimpanzee Tea Party remind the visitor Lion Skull, 3D printed for the Natural History that human interest in observing animals is Museum Gift shop reminds us how technol- not always simply scientific. ogy changes the discovery, recording and Humans have removed nature from its natu- reproducibility of animal specimens. ral environment for thousands of years, choos- ing to domesticate particular taxa, introduce Observing them to new areas outside their natural range The theme of perception that began in and confine exotica for entertainment or pet- Displaying is immediately apparent, and keeping purposes (e.g. Zeder et al. 2006; Vigne emphasised by Observing, which focuses upon et al. 2009;