THE ANIMALS

The Animals is an artistic project by photographer and activist Estela de Castro, who combines beauty and dignity to build a collective portrait featuring faces which embody the strength and vulnerability of those that have been systematically silenced by different systems of exploitation.

The artist has turned her camera lens to industries, sectors and practices like hunting, livestock farming, experimentation, animal trafficking and trade, as well as vicarious violence, exotic pets, shows, cinema, zoos, circuses and other subjects.

In its entirety, the photo project comprises 122 portraits of animals taken over two years in various sanctuaries and animal rescue, protection and care centres, including Santuario Gaia, Santuario Vegan, Animal Rescue España, Primadomus, Birds Friends, Rainfer, Reserva Wild Forest, Grefa, Granja Natura, Fieb-Foundation, La casa de Vane and Salvando Peludos.

A sample of 22 photographs was selected for this exhibition at Matadero Madrid. In addition to bearing witness to individual stories of survival, each portrait also reflects the collective experience of the animal species in question.

Contextualisation

According to recent data, in Spain alone over 80 million animals are killed each year in livestock industry slaughterhouses, primarily birds, pigs and cows. Every year, roughly one million animals are used for scientific experiments and teaching, including rodents, fish, birds, rabbits, pigs, primates and others.

Various studies have indicated that results obtained from experiments on animals cannot always be extrapolated to humans, and in many cases do not justify the suffering or mass slaughter of these living creatures. This has fostered the development of alternative methods and more ethical and effective models for biomedical research.

Around 85% of the territory in Spain is classed as hunting land, which gives a small group—hunting licences are held by roughly 1% of the population—preferential access to a very significant portion of the wilderness. Approximately 16 million animals are hunted each year, according to the most recent data from the Spanish Yearly Forest Statistics.

On a related note, annual reports on animal abandonment show that hundreds of thousands of dogs are collected around the country, with the end of the hunting season being one of the factors associated with the admission of animals to rescue centres.

The Animals encourages us to look beyond our conventions and prejudices, approaching the lives of animals with empathy and respect, and to allow their presence to move and to challenge us to rethink our relationship with them in a world marred by speciesism.