ANIMAL KILLERS; stories from fly swatters to goose shooters
About this activity.
In March and April, Okki Poortvliet will be a guest artist-in-residence at the Bierumer School. The exhibition will open on Saturday 3 May.
ANIMAL KILLERS; stories from fly swatters to goose shooters. Cows, fruit flies, horses, cats, sheep, herring, badgers, moths, mice and moles. We humans are surrounded by all kinds of other animals, and almost all of these animals are dependent on human actions: how they live, whether they live, and how and when they die. I am very curious about how people think about our relationship with nature, the world and other people. This is strongly reflected when we look at the way people deal with the killing of (non-human) animals. Killing animals is something that many people in our society do not directly encounter, while 1.7 million animals are killed in the Netherlands every day. So it does happen, but it is shielded from a large part of society. Where once there was a slaughterhouse in the middle of the centre of villages and towns, these have now been moved to industrial estates. And where once people slaughtered in barns, most people now get their meat from the supermarket. That is why I – someone who had never experienced the death of animals before this project – am curious about it, with the starting point of talking to people who kill animals in all kinds of ways.
I do this mainly by talking to animal killers and walking with them, sometimes with a camera. I express my findings in documentary images, staged film scenes, drawings, linocuts and animations. There is room for all kinds of forms of animal death: from killing flies, poisoning snails, the vet putting an animal to sleep, a student who slaughters his own roosters, to a hunter with a goose in his sights.
There are all kinds of questions that this project raises for me – and hopefully for others too. What is the difference in feeling between killing a fly, setting a mousetrap and slaughtering a chicken? Is it in every human being to be a killer? Why do we know so little about what happens in slaughterhouses? These are questions to which I do not have an immediate answer. And I think that is not necessary. My goal is mainly that we dare to think about these questions. And that we dare to be curious about what happens when an animal is killed, both for the killer and for the animal.
This project is more sensitive and exciting than anything I have researched so far. Because how do I deal with people who do something that many others judge or detest? How do I portray a sometimes painful, sometimes beautiful and often hidden story? I want to try to share this with the public in an accessible and inviting way, without detracting from the intense impact that killing an animal can have on both humans and animals. A project that hopefully creates a lot of awareness. Where hidden stories are revealed and where ultimately not only I, but also other people and non-human animals benefit.
The opening of the exhibition ANIMAL KILLERS; stories from fly swatters to goose shooters will take place on Saturday 3 May from 14:00 - 17:00. That afternoon, Paula Biemans will talk to Okki Poortvliet about her work in the Bierumer School. The exhibition will then run until 31 May.
Bierumer School offers artists space for production and presentation and is open to the public every Friday and Saturday from 14:00 - 17:00. Bierumer School, Hereweg 12, 9906 PE Bierum www.bierumerschool.nl.
Bierumer School.
Bierumer School biedt kunstenaars ruimte voor productie en presentatie.
Location.
Bierumer School
Hereweg 12
9906PE Bierum
www.bierumerschool.nl/