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FotoFest 2010 - Allison Hunter: Zoosphere

Presented by DiverseWorks Art Space at DiverseWorks ArtSpace

March 12-April 17, 2010

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In conjunction with FotoFest 2010, DiverseWorks presents the exhibition Allison Hunter: Zoosphere, on view  March 12 – April 17, 2010. Opening Reception: Friday, March 12, 2010, 6 – 8pm. DiverseWorks Main Gallery.

Zoosphere is a transcendent, site-specific installation investigating humankind’s relationship to the natural world. In her first ever immersive video installation, Hunter upends the power dynamic between the human and non-human animal within a dark, mazelike environment in which the man and beast co-mingle. Drawing on the experience of a visit to the zoo, audiences will travel through a a subdivided series of exhibition galleries filled with life-size projections of zoo animals devoid of any natural animal sounds (trumpeting elephants, birds in flight, herding zebras, barking sea lions, etc.).

Against the backdrop of a rapidly shifting ecological landscape in which species across the globe are threatened with extinction, Zoosphere reconnects humanity with the beauty and wonder of the animal kingdom and forces us to examine our relationship with and responsibility to it.

Artist Statement:

Zoosphere is a multi-channel audio-visual installation where zoo animals are virtually relocated in a different kind of captivity: the gallery space. The exhibition is lit only by video projections depicting life-size zoo animals freed from their habitats through digital manipulation. Unlike at a real zoo, there is no map or guide or predictable enclosure. Rather than viewers coming upon enclosed animals where they may be predictably found, the animals come upon the viewer unexpectedly and from all angles, appearing and disappearing randomly throughout the installation space.

The walk-through environment encourages an active rather than passive engagement with the art showing the vitality of the animal subjects as living creatures moving in real time—a dynamism not possible in the static mediums of photography or sculpture. It also makes possible a more dynamic encounter with animal life than what we experience at a traditional zoo. The conventions of display and the “infotainment” nature of many modern zoos exert a deadening effect on our experience of these animals. We see them, but we don’t see them. And yet the animals here are digitally projected while those we encounter in zoos are flesh and blood. This project thus raises questions about where and how to locate the reality of our relations with our fellow creatures, and it invites the viewer to speculate on the parallels between the conventions of display in the modern zoo as well as the contemporary gallery and museum space.

Zoosphere represents Hunter’s latest project in an ongoing exploration of cultural attitudes by examining man-made environments and then manipulating them to disclose the virtual worlds they create. Her interest in non-human animals stems in part from her background in feminist art and feminist theory, where she first understood how sexism is linked to speciesism. Hunter’s technique involves shooting analog film on location and processing it on the computer. One advantage to digital processing is the ability to spend more time looking at and learning from the animal subjects after a photo shoot on location. “During the many hours working on the computer, I contemplate the beauty and grace of these captive animals saved from extinction yet destined to live out their days in captivity. I also discover details of their physical beauty that I missed when I was at the zoo. In some ways,” Hunter says, “I see the subject fully for the first time.” What would others do, Hunter’s art asks, if they too took the time to really look at these wondrous creatures around us?

About Allison Hunter:  Allison Hunter is a visual artist who over the past twenty years has worked in photography, performance, video, painting, drawing, and installation. Hunter earned her first MFA at the Cantonal Art School of Lausanne, Switzerland (1990), and her second MFA at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York (1997). Hunter participated in international video and sculpture art residencies at institutions such as the Banff Centre for the Arts in Calgary, Canada and the Hermit Center for Metamedia in Plasy, Czech Republic. Hunter’s installation project, titled SIGNMAKERS (1998-2003), was commissioned by three European sculpture centers in Lithuania, Latvia, and Finland, and by the 2003 Kingston Sculpture Biennial in New York. Hunter’s photographs are collected by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the University Art Museum at SUNY, the Albany Institute of History and Art, and the Center for Photography at Woodstock. Her work has been included in numerous exhibitions in the U.S. and Europe, including at the Kohler Center (Wisconsin), Arthouse (Austin), and in solo exhibitions at Women & Their Work (Austin), and Artspace (North Carolina), among others.

In addition to practicing art, Hunter has participated in the art community as an educator, writer, and art administrator. She taught computer art at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and at the University at Albany (SUNY). She has written and edited texts on visual art and design for national publications such as HOW and Sculpture. Hunter was Executive Director for the Houston Center for Photography (2005-06), Artistic Director for De Santos Gallery (2004), and Curatorial Assistant at the Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery (2001). She lives in Houston, Texas.

For more about artist Allison Hunter, visit http://www.allisonhunter.com.

About DiverseWorks Art Space
Known for its groundbreaking artistic and education programs, DiverseWorks is one of the premiere contemporary arts centers in the United States. For more than two decades, DiverseWorks has been a hub for the presentation of daring and innovative work, commissioning major artistic projects in all disciplines, and an advocate for artists worldwide. Founded by artists for artists, DiverseWorks continues its commitment to bold artistic exploration, creative risk-taking, and building audiences for contemporary art.