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«ZOO-ZOO»

Curator — Sergey Katran, music curator — Alek Petuk

State Darwin Museum, Moscow

May 13 — Juny 15 2014

The art project «ZOO-ZOO» reflects at the animalistic and ecological scenarios of the future..

One of these scenarios suggests to exclusion the animals into reservations, like the national parks, another - the integration them from the wild nature into the city environment, where they will be compelled to adapt to a city-life.

Besides, Art-project «ZOO-ZOO» will include the exotic, but quite realistic scenarios of the future as the genetic reincarnation of fossil, the natural mutations, the genetically modification, a change of the nature for the new paradigm of human beauty, our health and a style of life. In the focus of attention will be the concepts of a bio-emigration, zoo-deportation, bio-robotization, microgiantism, etc.



Which kind of zoological community will be in the near future? How our pets will be look like? Will be solved the food crisis? Will we overcame the deadly illnesses? How the intervention of people will affect the biological landscape on our planet?

Let's ask some modern artists, what people, which create the new worlds and trades of a future design, could say about it. What kind of future animals they show to us? People say: any desperate fantasies that a human could create, looks like something that "invented by the nature." We will try to contest this statement. So, we begin the fascinating and courageous experiment «ZOO-ZOO»!



The inhabited sculpture for birds 2013
metall, polymers, 200x500x120, Courtesy Pechersky Gallery


There is always a certain amount of so-called animals-parasites, which is inherent to any town. Usually, pigeons, sparrows, crows, ducks, seagulls, mice, rats, and definitely homeless dogs and cats are considered to be this sort of animals.
These creatures in aggregate are a residual biological spasm dissolved in a synthetic post-industrial reality of megalopolises.


Their role is undefined and arbitrary, so is the citizens’ attitude to them. Some fulfil their sadistic predilection and declare themselves sweepers scattering poison around the places where these animals live. Others, on the contrary, are full of mercy and compassion. As a rule, government reluctantly performs its punitive function and, striving to be on the safe side, creates conditions for complete disappearance of any useless animals. However, urban animals do stay alive oddly clutching at the urban reality.

Indeed, they are of no tangible benefit to the town and thus somehow related to another useless phenomenon – spontaneous street art. Just in the same way all these graffiti, peculiar objects made of rubbish and snowmen tend to occupy all the spots where they are likely to reside.

Thus, one could talk of the certain homelessness of these two spontaneous phenomena, which are standing out of the general rational order. Why not to make an attempt to combine them officially and to get something new?


What if we build up special arks – city sculptures inhabited by homeless animals... These might be bizarre biomorphic objects anchored to the roofs of the buildings or installed in the parks and squares, depending on the physiology of its potential dwellers.



The inhabited sculpture for a dog 2013
metall, polymers, 200x300x170, Courtesy Pechersky Gallery


Social man has created a rational geometric world, but in the 21st century it is perfectly appropriate to abandon excessive despotism, creating not square dovecotes and not rectangular kennels. On the one hand, such pieces of art would bring a therapeutic visual alternative diluting city landscapes with natural forms. At the same time, they would become centres for culture and leisure for the citizens and will initiate a rare opportunity to communicate with living inhuman beings...


One could seat on a bench in the park next to the sculpture-ark, have a sandwich and feed the dwellers of the shelter. Of course, installation of such objects should be initiated by the government as well as its further maintenance. After the installation of sculptures in the city environment, cleaning, repair, video surveillance, illumination and all the concurrent services should be provided. The idea is that all objects should be maintained by the city government. Reasonable is the question whether homeless animals would want to inhabit these objects. If they do not, people would encourage them and look forward to see their appearance...





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