News Bulletin - Australian Animal Studies Group

To Catch a Tiger explores the human compulsion to connect with something which is just out of
reach. In this installation by Tasmanian artist James Newitt, the thylacine (or Tasmanian tiger)
creates a point of connection between issues and opinions related to conservation, wildness,
Tasmanian identity and scientific ‗truth‘.
The exhibition presents the artist‘s interviews with several thylacine experts and enthusiasts,
whose conversations and opinions are based on direct personal experience and in-depth research.
Compelling and often contradictory, the views of thylacine seekers, scientists and eye-witnesses
create points of ambiguity and represent the multiple notions of truth which permeate
contemporary discussion about the thylacine.
Alongside the interviews, a collection of images creates a visual archive of thylacine fact and
fantasy. Historical material combined with the artist‘s own imagery delves into the mystery of the
remote Tasmanian landscape, creating a web of references for the viewer to decipher and interpret.
To Catch a Tiger reflects our desire to search for something that continually eludes us, and visitors
are invited to contribute their own records of seeking, glimpsing and gathering evidence in the
search for something we refuse to let go of.
For more information, including an Interview with James Newitt see:
http://www.tmag.tas.gov.au/whats_on/exhibitions/to_catch_a_tiger
Exhibition Review
Animals in Art: Nonhumans Benefit From Responsible Representation
Marc Bekoff reviews the exhibition advertised in the June issue of AASG Bulletin:
Interactive futures: IF’11 Animal Influence
Animals in art force us to reflect on who we are and who "they" are . . . .
Many artists are focusing their attention on other animals and we must be sure they are
represented in responsible ways and also pay attention to the ethical questions that are raised.
Animal art truly sparks wide-ranging discussions that center on human psychology and our
complex and challenging relationships with non-humans in a human-dominated world.
See: Animals in Art: Nonhumans Benefit From Responsible Representation
by Marc Bekoff in Psychology Today, November, 21, 2011.
In Memoriam
On November 19, ecofeminist, author, and human-animal studies scholar Marti Kheel
died. She co-founded Feminists for Animal Rights in 1982, the first organization to work
to end the dual oppressions felt by animals and women, and to show the links between
both forms of oppression. Kheel was a prolific writer; her book, Nature Ethics: An
Ecofeminist Perspective, was published in 2008 by Rowman & Littlefield, and she
published chapters in such widely read books as Animals and Women: Feminist
Theoretical Explorations (Carol J. Adams and Josephine Donovan, eds), Food for
Thought: The Debate Over Eating Meat (Steve F. Sapontzis, ed), Ecofeminism:
Women, Animals, Nature (Greta Gaard, ed), and Igniting a Revolution: Voices in
Defense of the Earth (Anthony J. Nocella and Steve Best, eds). Her work inspired a
generation of feminists, animal rights activists, and human-animal studies scholars.
Reproduced from the Animals and Society Institute Newsletter, with permission
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