BETWEEN HUMANS AND NON-HUMANS: ANTI-SPECIESIST ARTISTIC COLLABORATION PRACTICES

PRÁTICAS DE COLABORAÇÃO ARTÍSTICAS ANTIESPECISTAS

Abstract

This article addresses the relationship between art and animals within the context of a poetic research in the field of visual arts. The objective is to discuss the participation of animals in contemporary art and the recurring utilitarian and anthropocentric approaches, proposing, in contrast, a collaborative practice in which animals act as co-authors of artistic works. It draws on partial results from the research linked to the master’s thesis “Contemporary Poetics: The Human and Animal Connection,” under development in the Graduate Program in Visual Arts at UFSM, with a methodological approach derived from Passeron’s poetics. This study is complemented by bibliographic and artistic references related to anti-speciesist practices, in which animals are recognized for their uniqueness and dignity, acting as collaborative agents in creative processes. This perspective is exemplified through the work Rebanho (2024), developed by the author, which seeks to build a genuinely collaborative art with production animals, respecting their limits and establishing forms of affective communication. The proposal, grounded in breaking with the capitalist logic of animal exploitation, suggests new ways of cohabitation and collaboration between humans and non-humans in the field of art.