‘Asylum’ is an ongoing ethical inquiry on zoos. Based in visual research, the project questions the ‘zoological gaze’, and deconstructs zoos as natural spaces.
Looking is where it begins. We first look at something and then think about it. When we visit a zoo, we are allowed to be in close proximity to various animals. Though the notion is exciting, what we forget to consider is the implication of this institution on the beings it houses. It is thus important for us to question our gaze and assess the factors that control it. How we look at animals contributes to how we regard them; and so this is where our relation with animals originates.
Foucault described prisons and mental institutions as places that exist “to define, classify, control and regulate”.
Is this what differentiates the natural from the man-made?
Chapter 1: The Facade
Chapter 2: The Cage Frame
Chapter 3: Structures
Chapter 4: The Visitors
Acknowledgments
Though this project came to be with the help of numerous people I see as mentors and friends, there are a few who require special mention for their immense support and guidance. Without them this project would not be where it is today:
Arianna Rinaldo my tutor at Elisava School of Design and Engineering, in Barcelona, who always gave me careful feedback that was reassuring; and provided me with tips to recollect myself and move forward undeterred.
Marta Daho my tutor at Elisava School of Design and Engineering in Barcelona, who believed in me and my work more than I ever could myself, and always encouraged me in the right direction.
Natasha Christia my tutor at Elisava School of Design and Engineering in Barcelona, who ensured that I did not stray or get tangled in my own ideas and brought in a lot of useful resources.
Terezie Štindlová and all contributors of the Zoo Index, which is an exhaustive research questioning the (un)importance of zoos in contemporary society. The articles and visuals from the book were a huge part of my bibliography. Coming across the book when I did was too perfect to be labelled just a coincidence.
A heartfelt thank you to each and every one of them.