“Life Sentence”
(2022 - ongoing)
Zoos find their origin in the colonial past of the European countries. To show exotic animals and plants meant to underline the wealth and power of the country. At some point there have been existed even human zoos until the mid of the last century. Nowadays things have changed in some zoos, but there is still the important debate, if there is any reason to keep the zoos in their old form and in general. Most of the animals you will find in the zoos are not in danger of disappearing. The money spent for the zoos, could help to protect many more animals in the wild. The learning aspect for children is also difficult to agree with, because most of the animals behave in strange ways due to captivity, artificial environment and the insufficient space. Polar bears walk around 70km per day for instance. In the zoos they start to go back and forth all day long. Some great apes have an IQ of a young human child and can be taught languages, so it is also questionable, if homo sapiens should keep his closest relatives as chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans in captivity. The pictures have been taken so far in Germany, Switzerland and Portugal.
