PATH INFINITUM
Path Infinitum, was first installed at The Photography Show presented by AIPAD, Association of International Photography Art Dealers, at Pier 94 in New York. The video was projected onto the glass entryway for the duration of the event, leaving the entrance illuminated with captive animals into the evening and overnight.
The video looks at the contradictions of keeping wild animals in captivity and raises questions about what it means to participate as a spectator, signaling power imbalance and consumption disguised as curiosity. Kept on display in the center of cities, captive animals pace, circle, and rock back and forth, to cope with the stress of living in an unnatural environment.
The impulse to connect with or observe wild animals is rooted in admiration and fascination, but is an outdated idea that pepetuates a false agenda. Aware of the tremendous need to protect wild places and those that live there, my hope is to contribute to the idea that sentient beings are not meant for spectacle in any form. Many species right now are extremely vulnerable due to human consumption as well as habitat loss caused by climate change. Is captivity an answer to the imminent loss? Or can threatened species survive and be effectively protected so that they live and thrive in their natural habitats? Experts agree that likely no enclosure is sufficient for the widest-ranging animals. Do we take animals for granted if we are able to see them so easily in captivity, and when they exhibit unnatural behaviors in captivity (as is most often the case), do we accept this as normal? Existing models of captivity and display are ultimately not meant to serve the animals but rather the humans that watch them.
March 29 - April 2, 2017, Pier 94, New York City, AIPAD
September-October, 2017, Catherine Edelman Gallery, Chicago
