Photography – For Our Pleasure?

Degrees of separation: Adrien Erhardt shows the reality of the slaughterhouse

As part of the annual international photography festival, Photomonth East London, an interactive photography and installation show is taking place at the Hackney Picturehouse throughout November.

The For Our Pleasure exhibition is a crowd funded show examining the human exploitation and interaction with animals in the created environment around us.

Alex Grace, curator and producer of the exhibition said: “We are also arranging a panel discussion on 18 November which gives the audience a chance to discuss any issues raised throughout the show.

“Speakers will include myself and Martin Usborne, Lisa Blackman (an academic and author of The Body: Key Concepts, 2008), with more speakers to be confirmed.”

The exhibition showcases work from four very different photographers, Martin Usborne, Daniel Kukla, Adrien Erhardt and Alex Grace, each exploring an example of human exploitation of animals.

Martin Usborne, photographer and whose project ‘CRUFTS: Extraordinary dogs, ordinary people’ is being shown at the exhibition, said of his work: “Crufts, the world’s biggest dog show that takes place in Birmingham each year, was under intense scrutiny a few years ago when a secret TV documentary argued that dog inbreeding was essentially unhealthy and cruel.

“As a dog lover and a pedigree owner I thought I had better see what it was all about.”

Adrien Erhardt, whose work ‘4°C’ is also being shown, conveys the reality of the slaughterhouse. He said: “I wanted my project to focus on the people who do it. My goal is to show the reality of this type of work with more objectivity than I had previously seen presented.”

For Our Pleasure
1-28 November 2012
Hackney Picturehouse
270 Mare Street
E8 1HE

For more information about the exhibition and to donate go to For Our Pleasure.