The evolutionary origins of mankind are still unclear to paleoanthropologists and biologists, but in that tale are the answers to all the mysteries of human behavior and psychology. The development of culture and language as means of survival has lead to some of the most bizarre human practices and wonderful achievements. Among the primates humans have a reduced amount of sexual dimorphism, but what little is left accompanied with varied amount of hormones has lead to all kinds of sexism, emotional rifts between lovers and cultural gender roles that do not fit everyone. Our very distant ancestors’ exploration of the Old World was a symbolic triumph of human ability to adapt to the harshest territories. However, the distance between clans has lead to changes in appearances and culture, setting the stage for the atrocities of racism.
To specifically tackle this concept, I try to establish a dialogue between images I create of humans, other hominids and apes. The apes have a particular meaning in western culture. On one hand they are highly intelligent and often cute animals that we see in zoos and circuses. On the other they are our closest living relatives genetically, and therefore can also become either an animal we feel close to as evolutionary cousins or are disturbed by because apes can seem like a dumber distorted human and a reminder that our very distant ancestors were very much like them.
An example of one of my ape images is a small poster sized, brightly colored image of a chimpanzee with his mouth wide open and the word “AHHHHH” spelled out across the bottom of the image. At first glance it appears to be a picture of some vicious ape, however the text made it humorous. The inside of a chimpanzee’s mouth is exceptionally similar to a human’s, with the most obvious difference being the larger, sharper canines of the chimpanzee. There is a tension between what the animal appears to be doing, threatening the viewer, and what they are supposed to be doing, simply opening their mouth to show the viewer what is inside.
Another example of one of my works with apes is a series of traditional portraits. In these portraits I genuinely tried to make the animal look intelligent and sensitive. I sought out photographs where the animals were either looking away in a gaze of contemplation or confronting the viewer with a serious stare. However, I did not attempt to anthropomorphize them or portray them in a way that was a lie. Apes are indeed highly intelligent and can think about the future to some extent.
Art is an exclusively human activity, and one that is related to attributes and achievements we are most proud of, such as creativity and civilization. By drawing and painting these apes I remind the viewer of defining human characteristics that the apes fall just short of. Because of this and the fact that apes are often a symbol of buffoonery in western culture some viewers will undoubtedly see these portraits as mocking rather than revering. I think this is an interesting contradiction, which will provoke thought and discussion.