ISSN: 2222-6990
Open access
Artists, through various forms and contexts, express their observations, understandings, and questions about society. This paper aims, through visual analysis, to explore the diverse expressions of animal-related themes, issues, cultural significance, and artistic styles in the works of five contemporary British artists, and to examine how social issues are presented in artistic creation. This study utilizes content analysis, incorporating both document and artwork analysis, to examine the varied representations of animal imagery in art and their possible societal implications. This analysis utilizes Feldman’s art criticism model to interpret both form and content, aiming to uncover their social and symbolic meanings. The findings indicate that various animal species function as visual metaphors for societal issues, reflecting the cultural, power, and economic dynamics present in society, shaped by the artists’ creativity, life experiences, and cultural backgrounds. Additionally, mixed-media installations emerge as powerful channels for emotional expression. This research expands the framework for interpreting artworks and paves the way for greater social awareness and cultural transformation.
Aftandilian, D., Copeland, M. W., & Scofield Wilson, D. (Eds.). (2007). What are the animals to us. Approaches From Science, Religion, Folklore, Literature, and Art. University of Tennessee Press.
Axios. (2025). The Herds life-size puppet animals trek more than 12,400 miles in climate action. Axios.
Alashari, D. (2021). The significance of the Feldman method in art criticism and art education. International Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation, 25(2), 877-884.
Aloi, G. (2011). Art and animals. Bloomsbury Academic, 2012.
Aloi, G. (2021). Broken Nature. Esse, 103, 116.
Arends, B. (2009). Contemporary arts in the Natural History Museum London: Symbiosis and disruption. Journal of Science Communication, 8(2), C02.
Burlington Contemporary. (2019). Between species: Animal-human collaboration in contemporary art. Burlington Contemporary Journal.
Baker, S. (2000). Postmodern animal. Reaktion Books.
Buller, R. (2014). Art and animals. Reaktion Books.
Brito, S. S. B., Cunha, A. P. M., Cunningham, C. C., Alvalá, R. C., Marengo, J. A., & Carvalho, M. A. (2018). Frequency, duration, and severity of drought in the Semiarid Northeast Brazil region. International Journal of Climatology, 38(2), 517-529.
Desmond, J. (2020). Displaying death and animating life: Human–animal relations in art, science, and everyday life. University of Chicago Press.
Gregory, H., & Purdy, A. (2015). Present Signs, Dead Things: Indexical Authenticity and Taxidermy's Nonabsent Animal. Configurations, 23(1), 61-92.
Hirst, D., & Burn, G. (2007). On the way to work. London: Faber & Faber.
Haste, K. (2015). Kendra Haste Sculpture. https://www.kendrahaste.co.uk/
Harris, A. (2013). Financial artscapes: Damien Hirst, crisis and the City of London. Cities, 33, 29–35.
Henning, M. (2007). Anthropomorphic taxidermy and the death of nature: The curious art of Hermann Ploucquet, Walter Potter, and Charles Waterton. Victorian Literature and Culture, 35, 663–678.
Halchynska, O., & Navolska, L. (2020). Land art objects are made of metal as a trend of modern art. Knowledge, Education, Law, Management, 5(33, vol. 1), 31
Huang, T. (2015). On the use of animals in contemporary art: Damien Hirst’s "abject art" as a point of departure. Concentric: Literary and Cultural Studies, 41(1), 87–118.
Johnston, P., Mastrocinque, A., & Papaioannou, S. (2016). The Role of Animals in Ancient Myth and Religion. Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Kalof, L. (2007). Looking at animals in human history. Reaktion books.
Kallio Tavin, M. (2020). Art Education Beyond Anthropocentricism: The Question of Nonhuman Animals in Contemporary Art and Its Education. Studies in Art Education, 61(4), 298–311.
Lange-Berndt, P. (2014). A Parasitic Craft: Taxidermy in the Art of Tessa Farmer. The Journal of Modern Craft, 7(3), 267-284.
Mohammadi-Zarghan, S., & Afhami, R. (2019). Memento Mori: the influence of personality and individual differences on aesthetic appreciation of death-related artworks by Damien Hirst. Mortality, 24(4), 467-485.
Medoro, D., & Calder, A. (2003). Ethics, activism, and the rise of interdisciplinary animal studies: An interview with Cary Wolfe. Topia: Canadian Journal of Cultural Studies, 10, 39-52.
Rogers, S. L. (2018). The King’s good servant: More and the politics of conscience in early Tudor England. Parergon, 35(2), 137–160.
Ragans, R. (1988). Art Talk, Mission Hills, CA: Glencoe Publishing Co.
Snæbjörnsdóttir, B., & Wilson, M. (2006). Nanoq: Flat out and bluesome.: A cultural life of polar bears. Black Dog Publishing.
Snaebjornsdottir, B., & Wilson, M. (2010). Uncertainty in the City. Art Lies, 65.
Snæbjörnsdóttir, B., & Wilson, M. (2020). Bani boðberans. Rýnt í teikn hækkandi sjávarmála. Ritið, (1), 171-181.
Townsend, C. (2008). Art and death. I.B. Tauris.
Wilson, E. O. (2021). Every species is a masterpiece. Penguin UK.
Wilson, M., & Snæbjörnsdóttir, B. (2014). Feral attraction: Art, becoming, and erasure. In G. Marvin & S. McHugh (Eds.), Routledge handbook of human-animal studies (182–193). Routledge.
White, R. (2013). Environmental harm: An eco-justice perspective. Policy Press.
White, L. (2013). Damien Hirst’s shark: Nature, capitalism and the sublime. Tate Papers, (14).
Wolfe, C. (2003). Animal rites: American culture, the discourse of species, and posthumanist theory. University of Chicago Press.
Zoidis, E. (2010). On the comfort gained from the acceptance of the inherent lies in everything. Konsthistorisk tidskrift / Journal of Art History, 79(3), 175–184.
Ling, S., & Sedon, M. F. (2025). Animal Imagery as a Representation for Social Commentary in Contemporary British Visual Arts. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 15(9), 660–674.
Copyright: © 2025 The Author(s)
Published by HRMARS (www.hrmars.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode