Giulia Cenci’s work explores the collision of humans, animals, and objects, the resulting hybrid figures embodying the tension between identification and distortion. These category-defying organisms, which are typically composed of found material and industrial objects, evoke a world in which the distinction between the organic and the mechanical, human and animal, have become blurred. The works are a reflection on a world in transformation – at once fragile and untamable. The sculpture presented in Two Hectare is a human size biped, with the head of a wolf, resting on all fours. The pelvis, represented by the mold of a cow’s bone, is slightly lifted above the head, one arm curled around the skull. The rest of the body is composed of molds of branches and human bones connected in a pose facing the ground, suggesting both bestiality and submission.

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Not: ‘dog and human’. But: ‘dog-and-human’. This subtle distinction was erased from our perception by Descartes, through his macabre experiments on dogs. Animals were reduced to mechanical objects, in line with Aristotle’s ladder of being, with humans perched at the top – a hierarchy that has shaped Western thinking for over two thousand years.

Technology led us, step by step, closer to the sun. But inevitably, the fall of Prometheus follows. Ironically, it was humankind’s relentless pursuit of knowledge, technological progress, and innovation – all rooted in the myth that humans and animals are fundamentally different – that caused its own falling from grace.

This fall of Prometheus wasn’t spectacular. In fact, no one really noticed it happening. Thanks to DNA research, we are now slowly learning how human-and-animal are interconnected. We’ve discovered that dolphins speak a complex language, and that apes have a strong sense of justice. They are not objects, but subjects. On top of that, we are now creating objects we can ask for opinions – subjectivity – such as AI. And so, a paradigm shift is currently unfolding in the West. Boundaries are blurring. The ‘man on a ladder’ becomes ‘man-on-a-ladder.’ One cannot exist without the other, let alone dominate the other. Everything is mutually dependent. Is this new knowledge? Certainly not. In Aristotle’s time, he was already fiercely challenged by philosophers from nearby and far-off regions. But power resided in the West – in the cities and in the church. Let’s go outside!

— Elias den Otter, De Vogelmeesters