Acrylics on canvas, 100 x 100 cm, steel sculpture, 2022
I’m fascinated by the look of ostriches – the long neck, round body, and even longer legs. There’s a saying inspired by this animal: “stick your head in the sand,” a way of closing your eyes to discomfort, even though your body is still there, still participating. But what if I told you ostriches don’t actually do this when scared? It makes sense, when you think about how nature works: burying your head in the sand would make you an easy target. And ostriches are anything but. When threatened, an ostrich will lie low and hide, run at seventy kilometers an hour, or deliver a kick strong enough to kill a lion. That’s not the behavior of a frightened, foolish bird. So where did this idea of the “stupid ostrich” come from?
I’m interested in exploring humans’ relationship with animals through art: how we see ourselves living with, or against, them. Why are sharks villainized while dogs are adored, when dogs kill ten thousand times more people each year? Why are we even afraid of sharks when we, as humans, are capable of driving them to extinction, even though they have existed since the age of dinosaurs ? How did anthropocentrism become such an unshakable rule for living creatures, and how did we end up here?
Mina Stokke 