The Politics of Co-creating Art with Other Animals: An interview with G.C. Heemskerk and Jessica Ullrich

Abstract

Nonhuman animals have always been part of artistic practices by humans. Many cave paintings, the earliest known form of human art, depicts other animals. Animals were not just portrayed by humans: their body parts and labor were also used by human artists. In paint and paint brushes, film, and many other disciplines and practices. The history of art is not human, but multispecies, and to a certain extent co-created by more-than-human animal agency. In recent years, actual animals are used more and more in art projects by humans. Sometimes, this follows from concern for their subjectivity, well-being, liberation and/or artistic agency. But there are also instances when animals are used for aesthetic reasons or to promote human well-being, as in many ‘multispecies’ of ‘more-than-human’ projects that are mainly concerned with environmental or climate justice, without taking seriously nonhuman animal rights.