Today I visited the Hayward Gallery to see ‘Brain Activity’, a major retrospective of the artist David Shrigley, curated by Dr Cliff Lauson. The exhibition, which covers the upper floor of the gallery, includes painting, drawing and sculpture. Amongst the objects on show are a taxidermised ostrich, rat, dog, and squirrel. All of the reviews I have read remark on how humorous the exhibition is.
I believe the use of sentient non-human animals as resources for artwork is wrong. It’s wrong because all animals have an equally valid claim on life and desire to live and not to suffer. Simply being of a different species does not mean animals can be used as resources, anymore so than being of a different sex or race.
When art is speciesist, speciesism is it’s dominant narrative.
