Ausstellungsstücke shifts focus to the dominant stance of masters, i.e., humans, and the enforced submissiveness of slaves, i.e., animals, which neither can give consent nor are legally protected from being used as a resource. In this photo series, the objectified subjects are subjected to the authority of Alexandra S. Aderhold without prior knowledge of what will happen during the session. This approach draws an additional parallel to animal exploitation because non-human animals live in constant uncertainty about what will happen to them next, enduring a persistent state of fear and terror.

Objectification of Subjects Without Consent: Against Arbitrariness and Ethical Crimes

With the photo series Ausstellungsstücke (translates to Exhibit Items) the artist Alexandra S. Aderhold aims to draw attention to the problematic object status of non-human animals by objectifying human animals in similar ways. Unlike the exploitation of animals, the subjects depicted in the photos have been able to consent to this project, and safety words have been established. Unfortunately, non-human animals are not afforded this privilege because their status as objects and property denies them basic fundamental rights as subjects. Their inherent right to be treated as sentient individuals, as someone, free from objectification, remains unfulfilled, and their physical and emotional integrity cannot be preserved.

Whether we exploit animals for food, clothing, entertainment, research, or other purposes, every form of exploitation constitutes a violation of their rights, regardless of how we treat the victims in the process, as they are turned into objects. A similar ethical crime historically targeted people of different skin colors who were used as slaves (formerly referred to as "property" or "chattel"), and sometimes even bred for enslavement. Today, the same happens to other subjects, the so-called "livestock" animals, based on their non-human DNA. This arbitrary and irrational form of discrimination, oppression, and exclusion is known as speciesism - the moral exclusion of others based on their species, rather than, as in racism, their skin color.

Ausstellungsstücke shifts focus to the dominant stance of masters, i.e., humans, and the enforced submissiveness of slaves, i.e., animals, which neither can give consent nor are legally protected from being used as a resource. In this photo series, the objectified subjects are subjected to the authority of Alexandra S. Aderhold without prior knowledge of what will happen during the session. This approach draws an additional parallel to animal exploitation because non-human animals live in constant uncertainty about what will happen to them next, enduring a persistent state of fear and terror.

This project is not about beauty, aesthetics, or comfort, but about suffering, pain, discomfort, and the fight for animal rights. They represent a logical extension of human rights, as they use shared sentience as a foundation to advocate for the equal treatment of similar interests among both human and non-human animals. Ultimately, the photos of the objects are exhibited and made accessible to the public, similar to exhibits in a zoo. However, the reality of exploited animals remains far more painful and brutal than these photos, which were created within a consensual and almost playful context, could ever convey.

Should you wish to become part of the exhibit, submit a request to the artist to gain access to further information about it.

Ausstellungsstücke

Animal Rights Protest #3

Animal Rights Protest #2