The hunted hunter

The hunted hunter

In this project I’m researching about the exploitation of animals in art, art as a game without rules, and the ethical considerations involved in artistic creation. The result is a series of artworks that deal with this thematic in different techniques: painting, drawing, sculpture, relief and installation.

This project is in process, however several works have been exhibited in different places and occasions. This idea began with two works that I made: a relief entitled The Compensation, and a sculpture The Hunted Hunter, which is an allegory of Damien Hirst´s giant formaldehyde-filled aquariums in which are situated dead animals. Both pieces are a criticism of the contempt and cruelty towards animals that this artist, one of the most famous and most highly-paid in the world, commits in order to create his works.

As I investigated the use of animals, dead or alive, that have been used as artistic material, I discovered that many atrocities have been committed in the name of art, and that many of the artists responsible for them are represented by important galleries, made famous by the press, and have their works on display in museums all over the world. Some examples of such artists are the aforementioned Damien Hirst, who has not only displayed dead animals in his works but has also used thousands of live insects who have then died in his installations due to various causes; Wim Delvoye, who has tattooed the entire bodies of live pigs and then sold them; and Guillermo Vargas, who tied and isolated a stray dog until it presumably died in his installation “Exposición Nr.1” in a Nicaraguan gallery.

There is a growing group of artists who give a voice to the abused animals through their work. However, there is a lack of discussion about the subject of animal exploitation by other artists within the world of art. Art has a powerful influence on people and I want to shed some light on this specific, complex and dark subject.

In order to create a useful work without a moralistic tone, nor a vengeful intention, I want to reflect on the following aspects: the meaning of the work by artists who use animals; the artists´ ego; the use of morbidity in order to illicit a strong reaction; the ethicality, or the lack thereof, of the work; and the impact that the work has on: the animal, the animal market, the regulation of animal rights and laws, the art market, other artists and the spectator.