animal kingdom - pollitt & partners · animal kingdom er steogaphr s mro f woe d r r o f jim...
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ANIMAL KINGDOM
ANIMAL KINGDOM By Jim Naughten
Fund Jim Naughten is funding his book for Animal Kingdom through Kickstarter. Find out how you can get involved at kickstarter.com/jimnaughten
SeeAnimal Kingdom exhibits at the Horniman Museum from 26 September 2015
Horniman Museum and Gardens 100 London Road Forest Hill London SE23 3PQ +44 (0)20 8699 1872 horniman.ac.uk
Buy Michael Hoppen Gallery, London michaelhoppengallery.com
Klompching Gallery, New York klompching.com
Contact +44 (0)7231 227121 jimnaughten.com
Pollitt & Partners9–10 Floral Street London WC2E 9HW +44 (0)20 7379 6709 E: [email protected] W: pollittandpartners.com T: @pollittpartners
ArbiterDrucken95 Mortimer Street London W1W 7ST +44 (0)20 3664 8807 E: [email protected] W: arbiterdrucken.comT: @ArbiterDrucken
Jim NaughtenE: [email protected] W: jimnaughten.com
Ashley Hay-CampbellE: [email protected] W: ahcportfolio.wordpress.com
Jim NaughtenArbiterDruckenAshley Hay-Campbell
Animal Kingdom Stereographs Foreword from Jim Naughten’s book Animal Kingdom available to purchase through Kickstarter.
Jim Naughten is an artist who understands the transformative effects that photography can have on a subject. In each of his previous projects he has been concerned with reanimating history. His latest images of Victorian and Edwardian zoological specimens continue this overarching visual enquiry but incorporate in addition a fascinating venture into three-dimensional imaging. They are captivating enough even when seen in two dimensions. But once you plunge into the marvel of their stereoscopic depth you are transfixed. Through the act of viewing, an intangible transformation takes place. While the photographs exist in physical form on paper, they also live as an experience, a beautiful illusion held in the mind.
These immaculate stereographs will have practical application from a purely documentary or scientific point of view; yet they also provoke more esoteric responses. Witnessed in three dimensions, the specimens in fluid and articulated skeletons become sculptural. The bellying of a ribcage, the swoop of a tail, or the turn of a head is an expressive form in space. It is tempting to anthropomorphise these animals. Many of the creatures here seem to possess a character that is enhanced or revealed through the photographs, as if they were acting or knowingly sitting for their portraits. The Lar Gibbon and Flap Necked Chameleon look like jokers; the Porcupine Fish is startled; a Young Female Orangutan appears deflated; the Atlantic Cod is angry; and the Leafy Sea Dragon is a real coquette. Examining the tracery of the bones in the Eurasian Curlew’s wings and its rapier-like beak sharpens my senses. Following the arranged arabesques of the Atlantic White Spotted Octopus’s arms, I am reminded of the influence of the natural world that forged Art Nouveau.
Naughten embodies the fertile marriage between nature and art in his Animal Kingdom. He dedicated a year refining the project, solving technical challenges and gathering images during visits to numerous museums. The photographs are individually coherent, but form part of a typology, a comparative study of types. Embracing the aesthetic and working reality of the archive, he shows the patina of time and handling in the fading labels, old typefaces and peeling black backing paint of the specimens in fluid. He also echoes museums’ classification systems, arranging his final edited fifty images into five groups – Marine, Reptile, Mammal, Avian and Primate – reflecting the sequential and chronological evolution of man.
A sense of boyhood fascination is captured in Naughten’s project. He is the nascent scientific collector of weird treasures, creating his own understanding of the world through a process of discovery and systematic gathering. The simple joy of looking is captured here too. Viewing these photographs in stereo forces attention on a single subject, and the act of observation is necessarily solitary: one subject to one viewer at a time. Relative scale of the specimens becomes ambiguous and the experience is akin to being absorbed while looking down a microscope. The impression of time passing, and the world outside, momentarily slips away and an intensified consciousness takes over. A whole universe frozen in time is reanimated and elegantly represented in this book. It is like a secret cabinet of curiosities with its doors unexpectedly wide open.
Martin Barnes Senior Curator of Photographs Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Pollitt & Partners
We are Pollitt & Partners, an independent creative agency 28-years strong. We have a fixation on design excellence and captivating brand narrative. We are driven to craft compelling concepts that surprise and delight.
We believe that great partnerships make great work. They’re a platform to build long-lasting relationships, a space for two-way conversations, and a way to keep our eyes and ears open. Together we can be creative, we can be ambitious, and we can make work we are proud of. Together we are Pollitt & Partners.
Pollitt & ArbiterDrucken
Murray Arbiter runs his printing business with a focus on people. He prides himself on understanding his clients, and believes it’s the details that make all the difference.
Pollitt & Partners has been working with Murray for 28 years and we’ve developed a strong partnership. Murray knows how we think so we can trust him to produce what we need on every project. Murray really listens to our ideas, adding his own and bringing another dimension to the finished product.
Pollitt & Jim Naughten
Jim Naughten’s approach to photography is one of exploration and storytelling. He’s spent time in Namibia, documenting the colourful costumes and customs of the Herero tribe, and in a field in Kent, he captured the passion of ‘re-enactors’ who dress up in military uniforms and play out the battles of our past.
Pollitt & Partners has worked with Jim for over ten years on a variety of design and advertising campaigns. He’s always fully involved in the whole project, and ready to help solve any problems that crop up. We are proud to be supporting his latest creation.
Pollitt & Ashley Hay-Campbell
A former BBC broadcast journalist, Ashley has worked as a copywriter for twenty years. She has written for big brands, small start-ups and individuals who need stand-out copy.
Pollitt & Partners has worked with Ashley on many different campaigns; her ability to make sense of complex information is an invaluable skill. Ashley’s copy is insightful and engaging, and her consistency means she’s a pleasure to work with.
Gibbon— Grant Museum of Zoology
Atlantic White Octopus — Oxford Museum of Natural History
Rabbit— Grant Museum of Zoology
Juvenile Chimpanzee— Grant Museum of Zoology
Jim Naughten— Exploring the museums— Testing the stereoscope
Sheep— Bristol Museum
Spider Monkey— Grant Museum of Zoology
Jim
Nau
ghte
n sp
ent m
uch
of h
is ch
ildho
od p
ickin
g up
foss
ils
and
shee
p sk
ulls
alon
g the
Dor
set c
oast
line a
nd on
Dar
tmoo
r. O
ver t
he ye
ars,
his h
obby
evol
ved
into
a fa
scin
atio
n fo
r the
na
tura
l wor
ld an
d th
e pas
t. __
_Thi
s Dar
win
ian
pass
ion
for
arch
aeol
ogy a
nd ev
olut
ion
is br
ough
t to
life i
n a n
ew co
llect
ion
of p
hoto
grap
hy. A
nim
al K
ingd
om al
lows u
s to
shar
e in
the
wond
er of
the V
ictor
ian
and
Edw
ardi
an zo
olog
ists a
s the
y so
ught
to u
nder
stan
d lif
e on
eart
h an
d th
e evo
lutio
n of
sp
ecies
. ___
Nau
ghte
n ph
otog
raph
s the
rem
ains
of fi
sh, b
irds
and
anim
als c
ollec
ted
over
a hu
ndre
d ye
ars a
go, n
ow p
rese
rved
in
disp
lay ca
ses a
nd ja
rs in
the s
tora
ge ro
oms o
f nat
ural
hist
ory
mus
eum
s acr
oss t
he U
K. E
ach
capt
ured
imag
e sta
nds a
lone
as a
repr
esen
tatio
n of
hist
ory a
nd sc
ience
but
is al
so p
art o
f a
colle
ctio
n th
at re
flect
s the
sequ
entia
l and
chro
nolo
gica
l evo
lutio
n of
man
. ___
Wha
t is f
asci
natin
g abo
ut th
e pro
ject i
s Nau
ghte
n’s
use o
f ste
reos
copy
. A te
chni
que a
s old
as p
hoto
grap
hy it
self,
it
allow
s us t
o se
e a th
ree-
dim
ensio
nal im
age t
hrou
gh a
spec
ial
view
ing d
evice
. ___
Each
imag
e is v
ery s
light
ly d
iffer
ent w
ith
one t
aken
from
the r
ight
eye a
nd on
e fro
m th
e lef
t eye
poi
nt of
vi
ew. T
he st
ereo
scop
e use
s mirr
ors t
o se
para
te w
hat e
ach
eye
sees
and
the s
mal
l diff
eren
ces i
n ea
ch im
age g
ives t
he il
lusio
n of
th
ree d
imen
sions
. ___
View
ed as
a tw
o-di
men
siona
l pho
togr
aph
on a
page
, the
view
er fi
nds b
eaut
y, fo
rm, a
nd d
etai
l but
seen
th
roug
h th
e ste
reos
cope
the i
mag
e is t
rans
form
ed an
d we
see
char
acte
r, ge
stur
e and
mov
emen
t, re
veal
ing t
he es
senc
e of t
he
crea
ture
in li
fe, c
onne
ctin
g us w
ith th
e pas
t, an
d ta
king
us b
ack
in ti
me.
___N
augh
ten
wan
ts u
s to
inte
ract
with
his
phot
ogra
phy
— ea
ch im
age c
an on
ly b
e ful
ly ap
prec
iated
by lo
okin
g thr
ough
a s
tere
osco
pe —
and
in th
at re
spec
t the
expe
rienc
e is p
hysic
al
and
very
per
sona
l. __
_The
antiq
ue sp
ecim
ens p
hoto
grap
hed
in
Ani
mal
Kin
gdom
hav
e bee
n st
udied
by ge
nera
tions
of zo
olog
ists
seek
ing t
o un
ders
tand
anat
omy a
nd p
hysio
logy
. By u
sing
them
to p
rodu
ce th
is bo
dy of
art,
Nau
ghte
n ha
s cre
ated
a ne
w
aest
hetic
, rat
her t
han
scien
tific,
colle
ctio
n.