Journal | Lagoonscapes
Journal issue | 4 | 1 | 2024
Research Article | Anatomy Lessons: Michele Beevors as Eco-Political Agent
Anatomy Lessons: Michele Beevors as Eco-Political Agent
Abstract
This article responds to the large scale sculptural work by eco-political artist Michele Beevors, whose work has recently been extensively exhibited in New Zealand, Australia, and Austria. She brings her audience close to the tragedies of eco-extinction and the brutalities of human interaction with our vulnerable animal co-species. The article considers her work through four frames: 1. Violence: Dissection and Restitution; 2. Death: Specimen and Requiem; 3. Grief: Solastalgia and Entanglement; and 4. Labour: Materiality and Companionship. Through these four frames, the artist’s exploration of human relationships with non-human forms of life is highlighted as based in decolonial, feminist and activist values. The text includes memories and reflections from the author’s life where relevant to the themes presented by the artist.
Submitted: April 22, 2024 | Accepted: June 10, 2024 | Published July 8, 2024 | Language: en
Keywords Care • Animal Ethics • Extinction • Solastalgia • Sculpture • Eco-political
Copyright © 2024 Leoni Schmidt. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/LGSP/2785-2709/2024/01/009
