Humanzee

Humanzee

Lisa Roet
05 August - 13 September, 2014

For the past 25 Years Lisa Roet has been working with the image of the ape and monkey. Environmental issues, genetic discoveries and the evolving place of humanity within nature are themes addressed in her art practice.

Through an interdisciplinary approach to her practice Lisa has worked consistently with primatologists, geneticists, zoologists and taxonomists to research and gather the information needed to make the works. This has included research at zoos, laboratories and museum archives worldwide, as well as field research in Borneo to produce art using a wide range of mediums.

As an extension of her visual art practice, Lisa’s latest project, titled "Humanzee", works with jewellery as a way to adorn the human form with the "Other"... a silver bracelet made from cast gorilla skin, hang on the skin of the human, a gibbon hand wraps itself around the arm of the human wearer as if hanging from his/her arm. The works/jewellery serve to remind us of our connection with our closest animal relatives and objectify our relationship with the Other.

Sculpture and jewellery are connected in this body of work, with gold, silver, bronze, bone carved and cast to make this range of extraordinary jewellery pieces for man and woman to wear.