Ron Mandos

Bloody Beautiful (Part 1)

11 Nov - 22 Dec 2007

BLOODY BEAUTIFUL (PART 1)

11.11.07 - 22.12.07

RONMANDOS Rotterdam is proud to host the curious and exotic group show ‘Bloody Beautiful’. This show follows on from the earlier exhibition of the same name at the Historical Schielandshuis Museum in Rotterdam curated by Silvia B.
What is our real relationship with animals?
We are devastated if a family pet passes away, yet many of us gladly consume large quantities of mass farmed turkey at Christmas. Our emotional heartstrings are similarly tugged at the sight of a beaten seal in an animal rights campaign, though how much do we actually worry about the way in which certain garments we wear are made?
The artists taking part in the Bloody Beautiful exposition all deal with this human animal relationship. Appropriating and playing with the different modes with which an animal means something to us: ́an animal as cuddly toy’, ́an animal as biological specimen ́, ́an animal as fashion item ́, they highlight our often ambivalent and hypocritical stance towards them. The artworks call into question what happens when you allow an animal to play a different role. When a fish doesn’t end up on you plate, but in a beautiful piece of clear Perspex. Does his death then contain a different meaning? How far do you go in your love for animals and where is the boundary between human and animal?
‘Bloody Beautiful’ is a wondrous chamber of exotic curiosities where ethics and aesthetics struggle for prominence and our ambivalence towards animals is highlighted. The show includes ‘beastly’ work by Cindy Wright, Idiots, Koen Hauser, Mark Fairnington, Silvia B., William Wegman, Karen Knorr and Roswitha van Rijn.
A second instalment of ‘Bloody Beautiful’ is planned for RONMANDOS Amsterdam early next year.
 

Tags: Karen Knorr, William Wegman, Cindy Wright