A marvellous menagerie

Curated by the gallery’s Megan Kidd and Jacques Michau, Menagerie will offer a world of fauna, sometimes real, sometimes imagined, as the notion of looking at an animal collection is translated into an artistic experience.

“An invented zoo [will come] to life… as we investigate the different forms and meanings that animals can take on, once interpreted into an artwork,” said Kidd.

“Menageries are distinguished from zoological gardens since they were owned by aristocrats and royals whose interests were not scientific or educational, but more associated with demonstrating their wealth and power.”

Kidd added that these menageries communicated status because the exotic animals that populated them were “uncommon, tricky to acquire, and costly to maintain”.

The curator further pointed to the definition of ‘menagerie’ in the 1782 French-language Methodical Encyclopaedia as an ‘establishment of luxury and curiosity’.

The term was later used to refer to travelling animal collections that first appeared about 1700, and displayed animals at carnivals throughout Europe and North America.

“The display of animals for human enjoyment has a long, complicated and often abusive history,” said Kidd.

“Here, we have chosen to display animals for you, but keeping them preserved in their frozen, artistic forms.”

Kidd added that the tenuous relationship between humans and animals could not be overlooked, as human beings tended to abuse those without voices.

“Menagerie, however, is a celebration of the joy than an animal in the home can bring, and the companionship that people and animals have enjoyed for as long as we have walked the planet,” she said.

The exhibition will feature works by John Moore, Kreh Mellick, Amita Makan, Diana Hyslop, and Roger Hart, among others.

Menagerie will run from 12 June until 28 July at In Toto Gallery, 6 Birdhaven Centre, 66 St Andrew Street, Birdhaven.

Details: 011 447 6543; www.intotogallery.co.za