the image zoo

What do we do here?

We take photos of representations of animals – insects, birds, reptiles, mammals, and the rest – as and where we find them as we go about or day to day lives. We do not take photos of living or real animals, though we might take a photo of a photo of a real animal – because that animal may have effectively already gained the cultural status of a representation.

Taxidermy gives us a conundrum, one we’ve dealt with to date by avoiding postings, although it is conceivable that a stuffed animal can become more representation than real creature, and so we don’t necessarily rule out the possibility of posting pics of taxidermy. But for the most part the representations will be paintings, statues, models, atrwork, public art, posters, advertising, graffiti, topiary, mosaics, and so on – you get the idea, yeah?

Most of the photos will be taken in and around Northumberland, simply because that is where we prowl most of the time. But we will snap up creatures elsewhere if we sniff  them out. Our globe-trotting, quasi-migratory lifestyles sometimes take us south of the Tyne, and even to the Lake District and Scotland. From time to time we may also ne corralled into expeditions to more distant places. If we are, we will go eagle-eyed into those places.

We are compiling a bestiary of representations. We are interested in animals and the way their images are deployed and used within human societies. The images we make of animals and the meanings we ascribe to particular animals encode something about us as human beings. We imagine that by looking at these representations and comparing them what each animal signifies will become a little clearer.  We also like animals and images of animals, which is reason in itself to photograph these images. We are also aware, of course, that in photographing them we are as it were creazting a second order representation – a representation of a representation. This second level will encode something of the meaning these animals have to us personally, as well as encoding knowledge and conventions from photography and art. This may add further layers of complexity, but for us it only adds to the fun.

Thanks for looking. If you spot any good beastly representations in your neck of the woods, let us know. We just might want to capture that one too.

Cheers!