Lost in Translation

This series of decorative objects are about misinterpretation —— the bias human has when it comes to reading their pets’ face. Out of human self-centeredness, we often assume that all beings express themselves the way we do, with a wide range of facial expressions and body, gestures to match their internal states. While some pets like domestic dogs are capable of producing sophisticated facial expressions, most non-mammalian animals lack the physiological basis for those types of expression. Thus, leads us to believe fish and reptilians with poker faces are coldblooded and birds with a perpetual “smiley” beak are cheerful at all times… The question is should we push ourselves for a deeper understanding of our animal companions or should we contend ourselves with the masks we assigned to them?

*Animals used in this project were sourced from local pet shops, they died of natural causes and was later transformed into taxidermy by me. Beijing, China, 2019.

925 silver, goldfish specimen
925 silver, gouldian finch specimens
925 silver, hamster specimen