nanoq - flat out and bluesome [photographic exhibition]

Uncover the story of polar bears, and their journey from the arctic wilderness to the museums and stately homes of the UK, in this photographic exhibition by artists Bryndís Snæbjörnsdóttir and Mark Wilson. Featuring photographs of 33 stuffed polar bears and their individual stories, nanoq reveals the uneasy relationship between the wild and its representation in our museums, galleries and media and highlights the current plight of polar bears. Often presented as ferocious animals posing a threat to mankind, polar bears are the ones now facing extinction due to the destruction of their habitat. The photographs reveal bears in storage, some in a state of neglect, and others undergoing restoration. Alongside the photographs are the histories of each bear - its place of capture or shooting, the name of the person responsible, the nature of the purpose of the expedition, the bear's history in captivity, its age at death. From bears in threatening poses, intended to thrill the crowds, to a gently smiling bear (once housed in the Fox's glacier mint factory) with a fez and a basket of flower-shaped fairy lights, we are guided through a catalogue of historical misrepresentations and presumptions, the gathering together of which challenges the kind of environmental exploitation which goes on to this day.

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