Abstract

Images of animals are all around us. Yet the visibility offered by wildlife photography can't help but contribute to an image of the animal as fundamentally separate from the human. Yet how can we get closer to animals without making them aware of us or changing their relationship to their environment? The Blind might be the answer. Developed for naturalists by the Institute of Critical Zoologists, the blind is a camouflage cloak that works on the principle that an object vanishes from sight if light rays striking it are not reflected, but are instead forced to flow around as if it were not there. In fifty stunning colour photographs, this volume shows the cloak tested in nature reserves, grasslands, and urban environments. The Blind offers an opportunity to explore how we see animals in photography and, in parallel to this exploration which questions the human attitude towards animals, the text examines the role of Darwin's evolutionary theory in the context of human relations. It critically opens up for discussion the relevance of Social Darwinism in shaping our current worldviews in the fields of geopolitics, social sciences and humanitarian relief.