This project explores posthuman and vegan narratives that go against the preexistent anthropocentric discourse. The project is named after the group exhibition “Animal Gaze” curated by Ece Nada. The exhibition initiates many other discussions and artistic experiments to come, which criticize and deconstruct human supremacy for the benefit of all animals. The project came alive in 2023 as Ece Nada was working on her master’s thesis, which focuses on literary and visual narratives that include animals as objects and subjects.
It is a “project” because thinking and creating outside the norms of the lengthy culture of human dominance over nonhumans is not an easy feat, and it needs to be revisited repeatedly. Therefore, this is an ongoing project looking for ways of artmaking that do not contribute to the physical and epistemic violence against animals.
As Giorgio Agamben says, human exceptionalism is the outcome of the anthropological machine which makes an ideal human in contrast to others, superior to others. How do we stop the machine? How do we have animals in visual culture (posters, art shows, cinema, etc.) without the human gaze that undermines, ignores, otherizes, or disrespects the gazes of animals? What are the problems with the current anthropocentric culture?
You can check out the exhibition text to learn about what is meant by “animal gaze” and see some references. The button below will take you there.