Humanimal – A Solo Exhibition by Tavira
24 Jan 2015-10 Mar 2015
Overview

“Only by learning to be “compassionate” to the heart, rather than just living and dying, nurturing and killing, can we broaden the line which divides humans and animals. ”

—Tavira


Lourdes Salcedo Tavira


Lourdes Salcedo Tavira is a young Spanish artist whose artistic creativity was sparked at an early age.  Over the years she has created a lot of drawings and sketches to depict her feelings and emotions from different life experiences.

Captivated by a world where she can freely express her thoughts, she recently has been fascinated by observing the thin line in the space which divides humans and animals, and a sense of disorder as to which part is played by whom in our society. Are we seeing all the heartless wild animal nature, strange and alien in ourselves—and others? To what extend might our own animal nature, which comes to the surface when confronted by fear and anxiety, reflect our relationships with our own diverse society? Animals are our “near abroad,” aspects of the world that are the closest to us as a species. However, have evolution and growth killed our significant existing differences from animals? Appreciating the complexity of our existence and our animal brethren is, of course, inviting. But more is required, too.

Tavira’s use of calm but powerful and vibrant colors, together with her unique and very sensitive artistic line of dialogue, skillfully convey beauty and compassion—a breathing space for hope—, in the art of showing the sometimes savage human/animal relationship.

The exhibition, Humanimal, at Chini gallery will explore how Tavira represents and questions our relationship with other species and how we connect with them in a personal way. She hopes to create a playful way of viewing her paintings through the integration with installations, to reevaluate the acknowledgment on how “the animal” has functioned as the other to “the human,” in order to capture the essence of our wild natural existence.

The Humanimal contraction is two sides of the same kind. And we humans are mostly animals, still.

BACK