Cara Rixon

Bachelor of Arts (Photography) (Honours)

Oct 17

Written by Gracia Haby

Archival image of a lion digitally altered to include a ladder

Archival image of a bear digitally altered to include a ladder

Archival image of two camels digitally altered to remove a portion of fence

Archival image of an orang-utan in front of a white backdrop held up by a man, with the zoo visible on either side of the backdrop

Archival image of an eagle digitally altered to remove part of the enclosure fence

Archival image of a spider monkey digitally altered to include a rope dangled from above

Archival image of three polar bears digitally altered to include a plank of wood leading out of the photo

It’s a family event; you go and see animals you otherwise wouldn’t be able to, and you have a good time.

I hadn’t been to a zoo for a number of years when I moved to Melbourne, but I went a couple of days after I arrived. Something didn’t quite sit right. It might have been the expensive admission fee, or the urban location where I could hear trams and trains on the other side of the fence. Or maybe I was just wondering why animals needed to live in cages. Whatever it was, that visit sparked my interest in looking critically at zoos. Wunderkammer constitutes an evolution of that interest, using archives and multimedia to investigate the relationship between humans and animals.

Lion, 2020
Archival inkjet print
120mm x 150mm

Bear, 2020
Archival inkjet print
120mm x 118.5mm

Camels, 2020
Archival inkjet print
120mm x 150mm

Photoshoot, 2020
Adhesive archival inkjet print
3000mm x 2932mm

Eagle, 2020
Archival inkjet print
120mm x 150mm

Spider Monkey, 2020
Archival inkjet print
120mm x 721mm

Polar Bears, 2020
Archival inkjet print
120mm x 150mm

Animal Cam, 2020
Video, screen recorded from zoo livestreams
Duration 6:35

Cara Rixon’s website

installationphotographyvideo

Gracia Haby

I have been collaborating with Louise Jennison since 1999, making artists’ books, collages, large-scale installations, prints, drawings, zines, and various tales. Besotted still, it appears, with paper for its adaptable, concealable, revealing nature, we use an armoury of play, the poetic and familiar too, with the intention of luring you into our A(rtists’ books) to Z(ines).

As artists and wildlife carers, our practice frequently concerns the natural world, addressing themes of conservation and biodiversity. Our home-based studio is also home to our wildlife shelter, Tiny but Wild.

I collage with words about dance for Fjord Review.

http://gracialouise.com

Cara Rixon

Susana Rivas

Laura Roberton