Pets of 25 photographers in Fotografiska Tallinn

The large-scale exhibition will showcase the work of 25 photographers, including world-famous names such as Elliott Erwitt and Martin Parr. From the 19th of February, Fotografiska will host an exhibition of man's faithful companions, our pets. The exhibition will focus on the bond between man and his pet, which was forged more than 14 000 years ago when humans learned to domesticate animals. Throughout history, artists have seen pets as more than just companions, and this tradition continues today.
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The exhibition features a wide range of works of a variety of pets, from Gerrard Gethings’ humorous and colourful portrait series Do You Look Like Your Cat?, where he’s explored similarities between cats and their owners; to the poetic images of Martin Usborne’s Where Hunting Dogs Rest, that portray abandoned hunting dogs in the Spanish landscape, in beautiful diptychs. In Dolly Faibyshev’s series Best in Show we meet well-groomed animals at the Westminster Dog Show, where everything is about image, prestige, and well-behaved pets. As well as dogs and cats, the exhibition also includes parrots, turtles, fish, hamsters and ferrets. The common factor of all the artists in this exhibition is the great love they have for their pets.
Classical works of art portraying pets often depict various symbols such as status, power, loyalty or love. In contemporary photography, pets have been portrayed in a wide variety of ways, from documentaries and staged portraits to humorous and even crazy photos on various social media channels. With this exhibition, we want to pay tribute to our companions and their portrayal in Western art tradition and popular culture. We shine the spotlight on animals and look at them from all angles: as human companions, status symbols, friends and family members, and as works of art.

From pets, we learn how to empathise, express love and take responsibility for another creature. They alleviate human loneliness and are often considered full members of the family. We compare ourselves to them, look for similarities and mould them to our needs. We seem to have an instinct to make animals like ourselves: we dress them up, take them to the stage, give them jobs, make them the protagonists of fairy tales and treat them according to our cultural beliefs.

Maarja Loorents, the head of Fotografiska exhibitions, says that this is the first group exhibition of such a large scale in Fotografiska Tallinn, with works by 25 different photographers from different parts of the world, such as America, the UK, Finland, Iceland, Jordan, Thailand, etc., represented in one exhibition. The exhibition also includes a video in which Estonian artist Krõõt Juurak, together with Alex Bailey, talks about performing for pets. "It's an exciting and very sincere exhibition that will leave no one indifferent," adds Loorents.

Some of the artists taking part in the exhibition: Martin Parr (UK), Elliott Erwitt (USA), Sophie Gamand (USA), Tim Flach (UK),  Akseli Valmunen (Finland), Hellen van Meene (The Netherlands), Kari Björn (Iceland), Niki Lindroth von Bahr (Sweden), Ralph Hargarten (Germany), Gerrard Gethings (UK), Leila Jeffreys (Australia), Martin Usborne (UK), Carli Davidson (USA), jne.

The exhibition will remain open until 12 June.