I read about Gee Vaucher's book 'Animal Rites' recently. Vaucher tears and combines old photographs to make collages that reference the relationship between humans and animals - and what that says about us as a species that has undergone 'familial and social conditioning'. The phrase is one used by psychiatrist R.D. Laing who proposes that our socialisation denies us of our own 'subjective reality or free self'. (Binns, 2016). Vaucher has claimed that Laing's theories is an influence on her work in Animal Rites. The tearing and replacing with parts of human faces blurs the boundaries between the two subjects creating a touching but also disturbing dynamic that hints at patriarchy, political hegemony, and the power that humans hold over each other and the rest of the animal kingdom. 'Vaucher has consistently maintained her commitment to animal rights as part of a wider critique of societal power imbalances.' (Binn, 2016).
I've only seen the images online and would really like to see this book in more detail. The work looks very effective and is inspiring to me. The tearing of photographs to make collage is an aspect of art photography that I would like to explore more of. This technique could well be a way to move forward from prop making in my own practice as the staged work with props is not too dissimilar to staged digital or analogue collages. There are also conceptual similarities to Vaucher's exploration of 'societal power imbalances' with my 'Target Practice' work. Whilst primarily a hidden history my body of work does has an overarching theme that references the hetero-normative abuse of power against minorities and less advantaged groups.
References:
Binns, R. (2016). Source. issue 88, Winter 2016.
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