Ever since I read Ernest Thompson Seton's 'Lobo' as a little girl, wolves have had special place in my heart.
Relationship between man and wolf has been a fascinating one to say the least. When humans were hunters, they admired wolves for their hunting skill, they started collaborating and some of the wolves became dogs....rest is a history. Then humans started farming and demonise wolves. They were slaughtered in thousands to near extinction, blamed for the crime they didn’t commit.
I started this project in 2010 to express my thoughts with wolves of all animals that threatened or endangered and it still continues.
I made three wolves - ‘Society Animals: Posh Girl’ has crown of barbed wire, fake fur and leather coat.‘Society Animals: Top Boy’ has top hat, fake leather coat. They have no body and hanged from chain resembles dog chain with dog tag.
'Little Red Riding Hood' is a brooch/object, her head,neck and tail are three dimensional but her body is flat.
The title is a play on words – wolves are social animals and they have alpha male and female, beta, subordinates and omega in the pack. Posh Girl is an alpha female,Top Boy is an alpha male and Little Red riding Hood is a young female that has no status yet. I made the couple as hanging pieces/necklaces, when wolves were killed, they were hanged. Their bodies are gone. But their spirits live on. Since 1960’s, number of research and conservation organisations have been set up. Wolves are making come back. The killing starts again....
All wild animals face death from the day they were born. That is nature. My work is dedicated to the thousands of wolves, slaughtered by humans.
2014, London
(c)Rie Taniguchi.