This recently released photography book brings together the work of 30 award winning photojournalists, focusing on the invisible animals in our lives: those with whom we have a close relationship and yet fail to see, or worse, don't want to see.
“We are entrenched in the ideology that animals are here for us to use. We capture them, cage them, wear their skin, eat their flesh and poison their bodies in the name of science ... There will never be a scenario in which the infliction of fear and pain on a vulnerable individual creates benefit to humankind.”
- Joaquin Phoenix, foreword, Hidden: Animals in the Anthropocene.
In our daily lives we are constantly in contact with animals. In fact, they have become an indispensable part of our lives, so much so that an estimated 80 billion land animals continue to be used and consumed by humans each year. The majority of these animals are raised and killed within industrial agricultural systems, to end up on a plate.
HIDDEN is an unflinching book of photography about our conflict with animals around the globe, as depicted through the lenses of 30 award-winning photojournalists. The book, which was released earlier this year, focuses on the invisible animals in our lives: those with whom we have a close relationship and yet fail to see, or worse, don't want to see. They are the animals we eat and wear. The animals we use for research, work, and for entertainment, as well as the animals we sacrifice in the name of tradition and religion. Published by We Animals Media— a non-profit photography and multimedia organisation—HIDDEN "is a historical document, a memorial, and an indictment of what is and should never again be,” states the book's editor and photojournalist, Jo-Anne McArthur.
This book prompts us to reconsider our relationship with animals and the value we attribute to them. But most importantly, it is also a call to action. The stories within its pages are revelatory and brutal, but necessary. They are proof of the emergency confronting animals globally, from industrial farming to climate change, and provide valuable insight into the relevance of animal suffering to human health. With the current Coronavirus pandemic wreaking havoc, never has a book like this been more relevant to the future of all animals, human and non-human.
The book features the work of some of the world’s leading wildlife photographers, such as Daniel Beltrá, Aaron Gekoski and Britta Jaschinski, with a foreword written by none other than longtime vegan animal rights advocate and vegan poster boy, Joaquin Phoenix:
“The photojournalists represented in HIDDEN have entered some of the darkest, most unsettling places in the world. The images they have captured are a searing reminder of our unpardonable behavior towards animals and will serve as beacons of change for years to come.”
From February 12 to April 18, 2021, the f3 – Space for Photography in Berlin will present the exhibition ‘HIDDEN – Animals in the Anthropocene’.
For more information about the exhibition visit: http://www.fhochdrei.org
For more information about We Animals Media
Order your copy of HIDDEN: Animals in the Anthropocene here
Steel barriers, concrete floors, tiled walls and push-button technology make up the habitat of the modern day dairy herd.
A sick pig left to die on the floor of a farm corridor.
A silver fox in a fur farm in Poland during an investigation by Otwarte Klatki and Ekostraz. The property held 60 caged and neglected foxes and dogs. All were rescued and the farm was closed down. The owner faces charges of animal cruelty.
Who’s next? At this dog slaughterhouse, a butcher chooses the dog he will beat to death with an iron bar while the other dogs look on.
Ducks are herded into a pit to be buried alive following an outbreak of the highly pathogenic avian influenza in South Korea.
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