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Memento Mori Art Exhibition

   

PetFinder.my has partnered with Yun-Fei Tou, a renowned Taiwanese photographer, to present an online version of his Memento Mori art exhibition which records the last moments of life for dogs at animal shelters before they are euthanized, serving to raise public awareness on stray issues and sufferings.


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2011/09/23, 12:57pm, Taiwanese Public Shelter, Time until Euthanized: 1.1 Hours
2011/09/23, 12:57pm, Taiwanese Public Shelter, Time until Euthanized: 1.1 Hours
2011/06/13, 11:44pm, Taiwanese Public Shelter, Time until Euthanized: 40 Minutes
2011/06/13, 11:44pm, Taiwanese Public Shelter, Time until Euthanized: 40 Minutes
2011/10/24, 12:09pm, Taiwanese Public Shelter, Time until Euthanized: 1.9 Hours
2011/10/24, 12:09pm, Taiwanese Public Shelter, Time until Euthanized: 1.9 Hours
2011/11/28, 10:54pm, Taiwanese Public Shelter, Time until Euthanized: 1.2 Hours
2011/11/28, 10:54pm, Taiwanese Public Shelter, Time until Euthanized: 1.2 Hours
2011/03/07, 04:17am, Taiwanese Public Shelter, Time until Euthanized: 13.2 Hours
2011/03/07, 04:17am, Taiwanese Public Shelter, Time until Euthanized: 13.2 Hours
2011/08/01, 11:38am, Taiwanese Public Shelter, Time until Euthanized: 29 Minutes
2011/08/01, 11:38am, Taiwanese Public Shelter, Time until Euthanized: 29 Minutes
2010/08/05, 11:58am, Taiwanese Public Shelter, Time until Euthanized: 2 Minutes
2010/08/05, 11:58am, Taiwanese Public Shelter, Time until Euthanized: 2 Minutes
2010/10/04, 01:49am, Taiwanese Public Shelter, Time until Euthanized: 15.7 Hours
2010/10/04, 01:49am, Taiwanese Public Shelter, Time until Euthanized: 15.7 Hours
2010/10/11, 03:17am, Taiwanese Public Shelter, Time until Euthanized: 14.2 Hours
2010/10/11, 03:17am, Taiwanese Public Shelter, Time until Euthanized: 14.2 Hours
2010/11/29, 06:16am, Taiwanese Public Shelter, Time until Euthanized: 11.2 Hours
2010/11/29, 06:16am, Taiwanese Public Shelter, Time until Euthanized: 11.2 Hours
2010/06/09, 05:01am, Taiwanese Public Shelter, Time until Euthanized: 12.5 Hours
2010/06/09, 05:01am, Taiwanese Public Shelter, Time until Euthanized: 12.5 Hours
  Message from Yun-Fei Tou:

These images record the last moments of life for some dogs found in public pounds run by governmental agencies in Taiwan. These portraits are taken on the very day in which the animal depicted is about to be put down or mercifully killed. These images are but a small fraction of the total body of work in this ongoing project.

Utilizing the classic portrait style that originated in the early 19th century with the birth of photography as an art form, these photographs offer the viewer a chance to look attentively into a bleak future. These dogs are essentially dead and their souls are hours, minutes away from non-existence. These portraits reflect a formal construct or platform through which the viewer and the dog “communicate” using exchanged gazes to create a forced contemplation.

Photographic images allow us to contemplate. Through contemplation we gain an understanding of the uniqueness and nobility of life. Through contemplation we understand how chaotic and disordered the world has become. The tyranny of human has caused and today is still causing an amount of pain and suffering over nonhuman animals. Nonhuman animals should be treated as independent sentient beings that they are, and not as a means to human being.

People should consider animal rights as a moral issue rather than appealing to emotional affection. As Peter Singer wrote in his Animal Liberation, “The portrayal of those who protest against cruelty to animals as sentimental, emotional “animal-lovers” has had the effect of excluding the entire issue of our treatment of nonhumans from serious political and moral discussion.”

The purpose of this project is to arouse people’s awareness of animals rights and make people think through, carefully and consistently, the question of how we ought to treat nonhuman animals. The animals themselves are incapable of demanding their own liberation, or of protesting against their condition with votes, demonstrations, or boycotts. We have to speak up on behalf of those who cannot speak for themselves.

The photographic image is merely a vehicle of communication that can lead to a better understanding of a situation, an event, of ourselves and of the world around us.

In viewing these specific images, one looks directly into the eyes of the dog and the dog looks back. These images reflect the last opportunity to look. This is a final and decisive moment. Death is eminent and all that is asked of the viewer is to engage, to recognize the common bonds and to honor the resemblances between our lives.


Submit Your Photos

Do you have beautiful, touching or inspiring animal photos that you wish to share with our readers? Please follow the steps below to submit them:

  1. Contact WAGazine’s Editorial team and describe your photos to us
  2. We will contact you upon assessment, and you can proceed to email us your high-resolution photos
  3. Include a title and description for each photo, as well as the photographer’s name and email
  4. By submitting the photos, you agree to the following conditions:
    1. The submission is original, or you have obtained the consent of the photographer
    2. You grant PetFinder.my the full rights to publish and use these photos


Facebook Comments

2 Comments

  1. avatar

    These photos are so sad….some so young, some so old, some so diseased…look into their eyes and feel what they have gone through…what we humans have inflicted on them. These dogs deserve better. It brings a tear to any human who has feelings..

  2. avatar

    It’s so sad to see the craving eyes that were looking for love and a second chance in their lives. Yet, God has decided their paths. Bravo to the photographer who has recorded the last syllabus of these dogs’ lives. May their soul will rest in peace and the awareness on animal welfare will spread its wings wider!!!

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