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In the works by Leszek Golec (born in 1959) and Tatiana Czekalska (born in 1966), including the Wearing White Vege Fur Petformance for Photography photograph series from 2009, the key role is played by the animal and the way it is presented. The artists' projects are thus part of the long history of the evolution of animal imagery in art. From Palaeolithic cave paintings to post-modern works, images of animals have always been present in human art. Their power stems from humankind’s ever-present need to define the relationship between ourselves and the surrounding world of non-human beings. Throughout the ages, however, animals in art have not been an end in themselves. They appeared as symbols and metaphors, serving the role of handy tools that allowed people to describe the relationships and emotions that shape their own world. These days, as we have been experiencing the so-called ‘animal turn’ in culture since the late 1990s, the animals are increasingly seen as a subject, rather than an object of human reflection. Art becomes one of the forms of searching for a new formula of inter-species relations. Golec and Czekalska are part of this trend, making an effort to reform the existing models and patterns. In works created together with animals, they allow us to see the creative nature of their activity and the impact on the end result of a joint work. Their projects often feature cats, as in the case of Wearing Wihte Vege Fur Petformance for Photography, where a vegan cat plays the leading role of the Petformer. By creating a neologism based on joining two English words - pet and performer, which in the parlance of modern contemporary art stands for an artist creating works of art with their own body, Golec and Czekalska show how changing the way we talk about animals can change the way we think about their traits, abilities and place in the world.

Magdalena Lewoc