Starting Month 2 - Fast forward to the Victorians!
May has begun, and I’ve been trying to get back into work mode following the Open Studios and moving to a new apartment for my second month.
I initially thought I should continue with the narrative I had started to form in April while doing the plasticene animations. But, I had told myself before starting the residency that I wanted to spend time here experimenting, exploring things I don’t often get the time nor space to do at home so I’ve decided to change direction slightly to make sure I keep things fresh... I will definitely be returning to my plasticene animations and medieval story though!
Having neglected the little capuchin monkey glove puppet in favour of the macaque one last month (because I was focussing on the medieval period, and the macaque was one of the most common monkeys imported into Europe at that time), I decided to focus on it this month. And to move into the Victorian period, and the way in which the Victorians represented monkeys and nature, and what that tells us about their relationship with both things.
It seems the Victorian attitude to nature was complex (as everything is!) and also quite contradictory. When I think about the Victorian era, the first things that spring to mind are he Industrial Revolution, Empire and colonialism, and romanticism.
I’ve written my thoughts down about this based on articles I have read on the internet. I’ll link the sites I found useful below!
Industrialisation following the Industrial Revolution meant more time for middle classes to spend on leisure pursuits and in the home - giving rise to hobby naturalists, pressed flowers, and the first museums. Nature no longer had to be “wild”, but could be brought to the living room.
The invention of the printing press meant reproductions could be made more cheaply and on mass - scrapbooking became a very popular hobby.
Industrialisation also meant we were less reliant on nature. The sun no longer dictated when activity could be done after electricity was invented, for instance.
Darwin’s theory of evolution meant that nature was seen less as something gifted to humans by God in order to teach us moral lessons. There was a sense of uncertainty now that religious faith had been eroded by science. It seems there was both romanticisation of nature and the idea of “the wild” as some sort of sanctuary, but also the idea of nature as something competitive and “savage”.
There was a lot of exploration at this time and colonialism and the further expansion of Empire meant more exploitation, destruction and pillaging of both other species of animal and humans. There was mass importation of ‘exotic’ animals from faraway lands into Europe, which were then kept in menageries of the wealthy as displays of status. Some menageries also displayed “human zoos” of so called “exotic” humans abducted from their own lands.
The Victorian era also changed the way we viewed our pets. With more time to spend in the home, the domestic sphere became very important and sentimentalised. The presence of pets reinforced the idea of domesticity. They tested the boundaries of the family, and through the keeping of pets, the “other” became tamed and domesticated. The more “exotic” the pet, the higher your status.
Similarly, plants were imported from faraway lands too. Gardening became extremely popular and having an “exotic” plant species in your garden was also a sign of wealth.
Mass burning of fossil fuels during the industrial revolution meant that many people suffered in cities due to pollution, particularly the poor. Rivers were poisoned from waste and the Victorians created their own human made world of factories and chimneys at the expense of nature. The Victorians started the commodification of nature. However, their attachment to domestic objects relating to nature and their obsession with collecting and cataloging wildlife, keeping gardens and beloved pets, was an attempt to connect back to it, regain what industrialisation destroyed and create one’s own “sanctuary” in nature.
https://londnr.com/victorians-vs-the-environment/
https://www.irishexaminer.com/property/homeandgardens/arid-30981152.html
