Upon entering the newest exhibit at the Zilkha Gallery, “Who’s Looking?” the viewer is asked: “What obligations do humans have to our closest evolutionary relatives?” “Who’s Looking?” according to the website chimpanzees.wesleyan.edu, is “a collaborative, multi-disciplinary investigation of human relations to chimpanzees.”
The photography exhibit, which runs from Nov. 3 to Dec. 2., combines Frank Noelker’s ten-print set, “Chimp Portraits 2002—2006,” and Associate Professor of Philosophy Lori Gruen’s five-generation study of a chimpanzee family, entitled “A Family Portrait 1920—2007.”
The exhibit, which merges photographs with narratives, explores the lives and behaviors of a number of chimpanzees. The chimps featured have been retired from biomedical research, entertainment, and cohabitance with humans and have been moved into various forms of sanctuary. Most of the subjects are still alive.
From across the gallery, Noelker’s portrait of a chimp named Kenya, with her light brown eyes and clever expression, catches one’s attention. Like the nine other chimpanzees portrayed, she is photographed in a well-lit, tightly focused headshot, complemented well by the blur of a dim, forest-like background. Kenya, who is now 14 years old, was born in Florida and lived in a human household before being transferred to the Center for Great Apes in Wauchula, Flor. She is described as “exuberant and gleeful,” a bastion of positive interaction.
In stark contrast, Rachel, whose portrait hangs to the left of Kenya’s, holds a contemplative, furrowed expression that is almost comical in its intensity. Born in 1982, Rachel spent 11 years as a research subject, being “treated as a human child” and undergoing a total of 235 anesthetizations. And, much like humans who have suffered such trauma, Rachel looks exhausted. Her dark eyes are focused on a point far beyond the camera. The muscles in her face are tight, and she rests her head on her forearms, as if attempting to keep her body close to her.
On the opposite side of the room are Gruen’s portraits. A series of photographs set on a mantel—as if in a living room—portrays 27-year-old chimp Darrell and the four previous generations of his family. They include two of the first four chimpanzees studied in captivity in the US, born in 1920 and 1922, respectively. The collection shows a sequence of similar expressions and facial structures. The subjects are playful and relaxed—moving, furrowing eyebrows, and raising hands, or simply caught in an absent-minded, human-like gesture.
Close to Gruen’s display sits the last of Noelker’s subjects, Billy Jo. Born in 1968, he holds himself in a pose of quiet determination, with his jaw set, nostrils flared, and grey facial hair revealing his age. He is framed by a high, red, circular glow behind his right shoulder, giving the portrait a sense of firmness that distinguishes it from the others. The paragraphs accompanying the portrait say that Billy Jo lived with a man in New York State for 13 years and spent 14 years in labs enduring severe abuse. Even so, Noelker portrays Billy Jo holding his head firmly, eyes open and calm, his general demeanor unmistakably full of bravery.
“Who’s Looking” also traverses the medium of theater to perform the investigation of human-chimp relations. The Guerrilla Chimpanzee Theater Company—open to students and non-students alike—gives unannounced, varying performances, or “occurrences,” around campus. During the first occurrence last Friday, “Real Live Primates”—humans—stood confined in a ply wood box in front of Olin Library, staring at passing students through large windows and hanging onto the wires that crossed the windows, much like animals in a zoo. The exterior of the box read, “Real Live Primates. Please DO NOT: Feed, Disturb, or Release.” Performers were instructed to ask passersby to be let out, who had put them in the cage, and how they could get out. When asked questions in return, such as if they were fulfilling an assignment for a social psychology class or conducting an animal rights demonstration, performing primates were allowed to answer only, “I don’t know.”
Other events are scheduled throughout the month of November. The photo exhibit will be accompanied by a gallery reception and a gallery talk with Noelker and Gruen, both on Nov. 29. Other events include “Chimpanzee cinema” at the CFA cinema on Nov. 29 and “Re/presenting Primates,” a panel discussion, on Nov. 30.
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