How do Representations of Animal - Human Relationships in Contemporary Art Signify Current Crises?

Abstract

My studio-­‐based research consists of a cross-­disciplinary body of work and textual analysis. The research focuses upon concepts associated with animal-­human relationships in a contemporary art context and how these have implied a range of current crises occurring on a global scale. This exegesis begins by outlining how animals have been perceived in both historical and cultural contexts. I begin by examining the ways in which animals and our relationship with them have been perceived in the areas of psychoanalysis, with particular attention to the theories of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung and their research into the subconscious, unconscious and instinctual drives connected with the animal. I also consider the parallels between anthropology and psychoanalysis and the significance of post-colonial research to these disciplines. I explore how the psychoanalytical theories of Freud and Jung influenced the work of the Surrealists, resulting in much of their experimentation and depictions of animal-human relationships from the 1930s onwards. I also discuss a number of Surrealist artworks, demonstrating how the psychological has been historically connected to representations of animals as well as their interest in non-Western cultures and art forms.