The Animal Within: Nature, Body and the Primal Self

Humans believed they had tamed nature, yet they never managed to silence the animal within. In art, the image of the animal does not only represent nature; it stands for suppressed desires, instincts, fears and wildness. Through images of our inner nature, our contradictory relationship with nature and the primal force of the body, artists ask questions. In this piece we look together at works that confront the wild side of the body, the tense relationship with nature and the animal we suppress within ourselves.

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Ana Mendieta: “Untitled (Silueta Series)”, 1973 to 1980

This series, in which Mendieta buries her body in the earth, symbolises the human return to nature and the desire to reconnect with one’s roots. Using the body as a medium, the artist calls up the most primal state of existence. She invites the viewer into a deep questioning of nature, death and belonging.

Kiki Smith: “Born”, 2002

Smith’s sculpture pairs the moment of birth with the figure of a deer; it represents a primal moment in which nature and the body merge. The female body, fertility and the symbolic bond with the animal become a myth in this work. It makes the strength and the fragility of the instinctive felt at the same time.

Şükran Moral: “Bordello”, 1997

In her performance, Moral confronts us directly with the human body and with brutality. Set in a brothel, the performance questions sexuality, domination and the commodification of the body on an instinctive level. It makes visible the boundaries between the social and the animal sides of the body.

Francis Bacon: “Study of a Dog”, 1952

In this work Bacon paints the loneliness and existential pain of a dog. Here the animal is not a metaphor but a mirror that directly reflects the inner collapse of the human being. The artist’s brush lays bare an inner horror through animal imagery.

Marc Chagall: “I and the Village”, 1911

Chagall’s iconic work builds a dreamlike bond between nature, animals and people. It expresses the pure and intuitive world within us through pastoral and mystical images. Through village life and a love of animals, it invites us to rethink our inner harmony.

Hale Tenger: “We didn’t go outside; we were always on the outside/We didn’t go inside; we were always on the inside”, 1995

This installation creates an inner landscape with the sounds of nature, animal figures and organic materials. It is a many-layered narrative about human alienation from nature and the suppression of our animal side. Tenger’s work focuses on the thresholds between the outer world and the inner self.

Berlinde De Bruyckere: “Into One-Another”, 2010

The artist’s wax sculptures are full of bodies melting between human and animal forms. Through wounded, fragmented bodies, fragility and animal endurance are brought together. The work lets us face the inner violence of what is natural. The more we try to break away from nature, the louder the animal within us cries out. Art makes this inner cry visible: instincts, desires, fears and our wild self. Perhaps the way to make peace with nature is to get to know the animal within us.

So how do you experience your own bond with nature?

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