Christine Oatman

The tableau Animal Friends incorporates five altered books, all dealing with animals. The chain link fence enclosure references the confinement of both animals and children, in zoos and school playgrounds in addition to concentration camps. [See John Berger's quote above from his book, Why Look at Animals: "All sites of enforced marginalizaton...have something in common with zoos."] This is perhaps the most participational of all the tableaux because the viewer actually has to enter this space in order to see the books.