From abstract paintings to sculptures, elephant artists to termite architects, the art on display at SAW Gallery’s Animal House exhibition is of avant-garde calibre. The show is light-hearted in nature, but therein lays the question: how much more do we have in common with our mammalian counterparts than scientific classification? Are animals capable of expressing themselves through art in the same way that humans do?
Though many of the pieces featured are abstract, abstract art is one of the best ways to connect with an artist as well as with your own self.
The movement of line and the choice of colour are elements that artists feel and use to communicate their thoughts and emotions. They also give viewers a chance to reflect on personal experience and derive pleasure or pain from the thoughts provoked.
There are those who may be under the impression that because animals don’t speak or act the same way as humans, they are void of emotion and therefore incapable of self expression.
But our top-of-the-food-chain thoughts must be put aside – when looking at the art, if you connect with one of the pieces, do not let prejudices stop you from enjoying it.
Artists Komar and Melamid have been teaching domesticated elephants to paint since the mid-1990s.
They are the masterminds behind the Asian Elephant Art & Conservation Project, a non-profit organization that sells art created by domesticated elephants in Asia who have lost their livelihood.
The money raised from the sale of the art pieces is given to the people of Southeast Asia to improve the lives of the remaining domesticated elephants and their caretakers.
Art created by animals is a growing enterprise, one that Komar and Melamid argue will one day provide competition for human art on the market.
The exhibition will be caged in SAW Gallery until Sept 26.