Welcome

Animalism investigates contemporary media responses to our complex and sometimes uncomfortable relationship with the animal world.

As humans we are familiar with the seductive, yet distancing, anthropomorphic imagery of animals, where they feature in films, television documentaries and wildlife photography. Our visually driven society tends to give animals human characteristics to make them seem more like us. This exhibition, however, considers the animal gaze and the ways in which animals see us, quite simply, as other animals, rather than distinctly and uniquely human.

From explorations of our association with pets, to our passive acceptance of animal cruelty, Animalism looks at the variety of ways in which photography, artists' film, cinema and television have represented the contradictory relationships between animals and humans.